Happily
by lynddsbeth
Summary: It turns out Marian isn't the only one Emma and Killian brought back from their trip to the past. Regina is dragged into the new council to deal with Storybrooke's coldest problem yet, but she struggles to be around Robin. Will she allow him to help her when she needs it? Or will she risk her life to keep his family together? *image does not belong to me
1. Chapter 1

_this is my new story which takes place a little while after the season finale. elsa has already show herself and started freezing the town in search for her sister anna. i found the picture not tumblr, so it's not mine. neither are the characters, those belong to adam and eddie. the story is probably only going to be a few chapters long, but hopefully you like it! :) thanks for reading_

* * *

You don't understand, you don't understand.

What you do to me when you hold her* hand.

We were meant to be but a twist of fate

Made it so we had to walk away

-happily, by one direction

* * *

It turned out Marian wasn't the only one Emma and Killian brought back from the past Enchanted Forest. The bottle Killian had picked out in the Dark One's castle also came with them. And with the bottle came Elsa, Queen of Ice. The young queen had quickly frozen half the town looking for her sister. She refused to stop even though they swore the girl wasn't in Storybrooke. Regina didn't recall cursing her and no one had seen her in the 30 years they had been there. So Snow White called their first meeting to discuss plans to stop the queen. The new council was similar to the ones they had in the Enchanted Forest, but they had extra members this time. Snow's husband and daughter followed her as well as Regina, Tinkerbell, Granny, Hook, Grumpy, Robin, Marian, and a new member of the Merry Men. They entered in the back room of Granny's at a round table Regina had conjured for their meeting.

"I'm not so sure we need so many people to defeat a witch. We didn't for Zelena and I'm sure she was far more powerful than this Ice Queen." Regina said in a grumpy manner. She had been reluctant to be involved in this new fight, but Snow insisted that she would feel better about Robin's reunion with his wife if she had a mission to focus on.

"Well we'd rather deal with this one much faster than you dealt with Zelena. And without casting the Dark Curse again." Grumpy said.

Regina opened her mouth to shoot a snarky remark back when Charming interrupted her. "So, Robin who is this of your Merry Men?"

"This is Will Scarlett." Robin introduced the younger man to the group. "He spent a lot of time in Wonderland, and knows a bit about magic. I thought he might be some help."

Will looked up from staring at his hands. He gave them all a small grin before his eyes settled on Regina. Then his cheeky expression turned to anger. "You. You're her daughter."

Regina looked over at him, a questioning look on her face.

He moved closer to her and pulled out his sword, holding it below her chin. The rest of the group pulled out their swords as well, the Merry Men following his lead while Charming defended Regina. Granny held up her crossbow, unsure of who to point it at. Tinkerbell and Snow's eyes widened nervously as they watched the scene. Robin just moved to stand in both their lines of sight, his hands up in the air. "Woah, woah, Will! What are you doing?"

"You're the daughter of the Queen of Hearts."

"Will..." Robin cautioned, his outstretched hands his only defense. He moved between them, ready to block Regina from him.

Regina's eyes widened. "You knew my mother?"

He shook his head. "'Course I did. She taught my girlfriend to choose power over love. Taught her magic and made her into a ruthless queen."

The brunette chuckled humorlessly. "That sounds like my mother. Your girlfriend must have been very powerful for her to take interest. Although I suppose she needed someone to control because she failed so miserably with me."

Will ignored her. "She also ripped out many hearts, including mine. I had to do her dirty work until Alice stole my heart back."

"Like Mother, like daughter." Marian said from behind Robin. "Apparently evil runs in the family."

Robin shot her a look before pushing Will's sword out of the way. "Regina isn't like her mother."

Regina didn't acknowledge Robin's words. Will held his sword by his side. "Where is she? I've got quite a few things I'd like to say to her."

She studied him for a moment before responding quietly. "She's dead."

"Bloody hell. Thank god. Can I buy everyone a round of drinks to celebrate?"

"Will!" Robin scolded. He looked at Regina, could see the pain on her face she was trying to hide.

"I've long since grieved her death. It matters not." Regina lied. "I believe we were here to figure out a way to find Storybrooke's new problem."

Snow nodded, grateful to change the subject. As the meeting went on, Regina could feel Robin's worried eyes on her, but made a point of not looking towards him and his wife. Instead, she thought about her mother. If her castle was still standing in Wonderland... Perhaps there was something there that could help them.

She stood abruptly. Snow stopped talking slowly. "Regina?"

"I trust that you have this under control. I have something I need to do."

"Is it more important than protecting this town?" Charming asked.

"It just might be." She responded with a smile. "If you'll excuse me." She waved her hands and disappeared. She appeared outside Henry's room in her home. He wasn't there, so she quickly scribbled a note with a quick explanation and a promise to return soon and left it on his pillow before waving her hands once more. She found herself on the main street and headed towards the place she knew she would find the Rabbit that brought Will Scarlett from Wonderland. She ignored the strong winds and the heavy snowfall from the storm around her.

* * *

Snow sighed. This was one of many meetings since Elsa had been brought to Storybrooke with Emma and Killian. In each of the meetings, they had gotten nowhere. Regina had abruptly left during their first meeting and no one had seen her since. She tried knocking on the mayor's door, but there was no answer. Henry had told her and Charming about her relationship with Robin, which helped Snow see why the older woman had been so upset at Marian's return. She felt bad for her former stepmother. It seemed that Robin was the reason she was so smitten earlier and now the reason she was so distraught and distant.

The doors burst open loudly, making everyone in the room jump in surprise. Regina walked through confidently, holding onto something. Snow and ice followed the mayor's sudden entrance. Frost quickly covered the room, making it's occupants shiver and pulled tighter on their sweaters. She placed the object in her hand on the table, wincing and touching her shoulder lightly. "I found a way to defeat her."

Snow leaned forward to look at the object she placed before them. It was a red wand.

"What is that?" Charming asked, rocking his son back and forth behind Snow.

"It's a wand created in fire. Elsa's magic is ice, obviously the opposite of fire. This should weaken anything she does long enough for us to subdue her."

Hope seemed to spread through the room. The council members started to whisper excitedly.

"How did you find it?" Robin asked. The room fell silent at his deep voice.

Regina looked at it. "My mother had it in her palace."

"In her palace? You went all the way to Wonderland?" Tinkerbell asked in surprise.

She nodded. "Yes. I knew she would have collected many magical objects that she did not bring with her here. The Rabbit brought me to her castle and I spent the last few days trying to find something that could help us, when I finally stumbled upon this wand."

"Wonderful!" Charming leaned over to pat her on the back. She winced again before reaching up to rub her shoulder. She caught Robin's curious eye before dropping her hand by her side.

"So how do we use it?" Emma asked.

"Just focus on using the power within it to cancel out what Elsa is doing." Regina picked up the wand and handed it to Tinkerbell.

"You want me to use it?" The fairy asked in surprise.

"It's an old fairy wand, so I believe you are the most qualified." She smiled at her friend. "I know you can do it."

The blonde grinned and stood to hug her. "Oh Regina, thank you!" She turned to the table. "I can do this. We will stop Elsa from harming this town any further."

Snow nodded and leaned forward. "So, now we have to figure out how are we going to get you close enough to use that?"

Regina sighed and sunk into the chair next to Tinkerbell as the council debated. Finally, they decided that Regina would lure the Ice Queen out of hiding and bring her to the Main Street, where Tinkerbell would be waiting with the wand. They would do this in a few days, after Tink had the chance to practice with the wand and make sure she knew how to use it. Elsa had been evasive before and they all knew this was their only chance to stop her.

It seemed to take forever, but finally the council started to head home. Regina found herself left with Tink, the Charmings, Hook, Will Scarlet, and Robin.

"Thank you, Regina." Snow said softly.

She nodded.

The younger woman gave her a smile before leaving with her husband and youngest child. Emma also gave her a hesitant smile as she followed them out. The Savior had been skittish around Regina since she brought Marian back from the past and Regina couldn't help but be glad. She didn't really want to listen to her apologies.

"You broke into the Queen of Hearts' castle to find this wand?" Will asked her. He sounded almost impressed.

Regina shrugged carefully. "She was my mother. Technically, as her only living descendant, that castle belongs to me. I didn't really break in. Not this time. Although I took everything I might need from it, so it doesn't matter what happens to it now."

"Lovely." Will turned to look at Robin. "What do you say we take a trip to the castle? I'm sure there is plenty we can find."

"I don't think so. Let the people of Wonderland take it for themselves." Robin replied. He patted Will on the shoulder as the man headed for the door as well.

"What a bloody shame, mate."

Tink turned to look at Regina. "So, want to get a drink with me? Tomorrow we can start practicing with the wand, but for now we should celebrate."

"I think I should head home, Tink. Maybe later."

The fairy nodded and left. Regina moved to follow her, but Robin stopped her. He pointed to her shoulder. "You should get that checked out."

Regina looked down. "I'm fine."

"I'm guessing your mother's castle had traps. Anything like the ones in your castle?"

"Not quite. I avoided most of them. There were a few that were set off when I broke her blood magic."

"May I take a look?"

"I'm fine." Regina repeated, this time more strongly.

Robin gave her a doubtful look. "You've been trying to hide the pain, but it's clear you are hurt. If you refuse to go to a hospital, at least let me look at it. Unless, of course, you wish for me to call Snow to take care of you."

Regina gave him a dirty look and sighed before carefully pulling her jacket off and pushing her collar back. Robin held back a gasp as he saw her shoulder covered in blood. He couldn't even see the wounds where the blood came from.

"It looks worse than it is. I can certainly heal myself. I just wanted to bring the wand to them first."

"You came straight to this meeting from Wonderland, where you were hurt?" He asked, wonder clear in his voice. Regina never failed to surprise him from the moment he met her.

"I went there to find something to help them. And I did. It took me long enough to find it, so I didn't want to waste any more time. The trap… caught me off guard. I forgot to be careful on my way out. It was foolish, but I can deal with it. I don't need your help, Robin."

"Of course you don't. But you should at least clean the wound. And it looks like you can't do it on your own. Let me help you, Regina."

"Fine." She huffed before sitting down again. She unbuttoned her shirt so he could see all of her wounded shoulder.

He grabbed the water from the other small table and dipped a towel in it. Regina hissed in pain as he pressed it against her wound, despite how careful he was trying to be.

"Sorry." He apologized. "This trap was set off when you broke your mother's blood lock?"

She nodded, watching him dab the blood off her skin.

"So she was targeting you when she made those."

"I suppose she knew either me or Zelena would go looking for her someday. She always liked having the upper hand, so those traps were supposed to keep us there until she was ready to see us. She probably set them up after the last time I was in Wonderland."

"You visited her there before?" Robin's hand stilled as he looked at her face.

"Not exactly." Regina said hesitantly. "I was the one that sent her to Wonderland in the first place. To… free myself of her. In return, she managed to take my father from me. I went to Wonderland to save him. We didn't cross paths personally because her men failed to stop me from escaping. But I think she was hoping I would return eventually."

"So she set up traps to hurt you? What if she killed you by an accident?"

"Trust me, these traps were only set up to inflict a lot of pain." Regina said darkly. She took the towel from Robin, who was too stunned to do anything. "Most of them were… psychological. Meant to make us weak for her return. That's why I was caught in this one. I wasn't focused."

"Your mother…" Robin started.

"Was cruel and power hungry. She didn't care about me or Zelena. I was a fool to think that I ever meant anything to her, except for what I could give her. Status." She met Robin's eye and gave him a small smile. "Now you understand why Will Scarlett was happy she was dead. Most of Storybrooke feels the same."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I can't really blame them." Regina dropped his gaze as he pressed his hand against hers on the towel. She flinched at the increased pressure.

"Regina…" Robin began.

She shook her head and pulled his hand away to button her shirt back up. She stood and Robin followed.

"I just want to talk about the other day."

"Well, I don't. I should get back home." She headed towards the door. "Just… tell Roland I said hi."

"Regina!" Robin called as she disappeared through the door. He sighed before throwing the towel on the table and following her out the door. He meant to follow her, but the sight of Marian stopped him.

"Marian?" He asked in surprise. He expected her to follow Will back to the Merry Men's camp in the forest. He was surprised when she decided to come to the first meeting, but she just explained that she wanted to spend every moment she could with him. Deep down, he knew it had something to do with Regina, who Roland had told his mother all about. Robin tried to divert Marian's attention so she didn't know the extent of their relationship, but he knew she suspected something. So, when she learned Regina was part of the council, she started going with him.

His wife stood from the spot she was waiting. "I was wondering where you went. She was off in a hurry. Never thought I'd see the Evil Queen running away."

Robin sighed. "She's not…"

"Evil. Yeah, so you've said." Marian finished. "I'm sorry if I don't believe that she has changed. She almost killed me. Seems pretty evil to me."

He forced himself to smile. "Let's just go home, shall we?"

"What took you so long?" She asked curiously, giving him a sweet smile.

"Regina-The Queen was injured. I thought it best to make sure she was okay."

"That's kind of you, Robin."

He didn't answer, knowing there was nothing he could say to make her any less suspicious of Regina. Despite the fact he was holding the hand of his love, who he thought had died so long ago, he wasn't truly happy. He could tell Regina wasn't either, and he felt bad for the way he left things with her. He decided to seek her out in the morning.

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_reviews? :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_this is a short chapter but i believe the next one is pretty long. enjoy!_

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"Do you all believe that the Evil Queen... Regina has truly changed?"

Robin listened carefully from his tent when he heard his wife ask the Merry Men who were sitting with her by the campfire. He had retreated to their tent a little while earlier, when Roland started to get grumpy and asked for Regina to say goodnight before he went to bed. He was inconsolable until Robin drew him away from the group and promised to bring him to see Regina soon if he agreed to be good. Roland had promised very seriously and allowed Robin to put him to bed without any arguments. The boy had fallen asleep a few minutes ago, and Robin had laid down next to him, suddenly feeling very drained.

He couldn't pretend he was content any longer. He tried desperately to forget Regina and be a good husband as he had promised to be, but it was getting harder and harder. He had changed since Marian died. He grieved for her, but moved on. Recently, he had opened his heart to love again. Because even though he never said it, he knew he loved Regina. He had been drawn to her from the first moment he saw her in the Enchanted Forest. At first, he didn't understand how his feelings could grow so quickly, but after Regina's story about finding her soul mate, he knew why. He couldn't help but worry about how she was handling Marian's return and his worry increased when he saw her wounds earlier.

"I do." Robin recognized the voice belonging to one of the youngest of the Merry Men, Arthur. "I heard a lot of stories about the Evil Queen back home when she was hunting Snow White, but I met her when she was back in the Enchanted Forest this past year. She's...feisty for sure, but she doesn't seem evil. Right after we met her, she saved Roland from an attack without even a second thought."

"He's right. She saved everyone when her sister, the Wicked Witch of the West attacked. She stopped her by using light magic. Evil people can't use light magic. If it wasn't for her, Zelena would have succeeded in going back into the past and changing things." This time, the voice belonged to Little John. "She saved me from remaining a flying monkey."

"But how could someone so evil change?" Marian argued.

"I think she did it for her son." Arthur offered.

"She has a son?"

"Yeah. I'm sure you'll see him around town." Arthur paused as the men were silent. "Do you know any stories about her before she became the Evil Queen? Everyone knows about the horrible things she did, but what made her that way?"

"Some people are just born evil, kid." One of the older men, Nicholas, said.

"I don't believe that." The young man said firmly.

"Her mother certainly was evil." Will added.

"She married King Leopold of the White Kingdom when she was young. Probably younger than you are now." David of Doncaster answered Arthur. "She was his second wife and he was much older than she was. If the stories are true, she saved his daughter Snow White's life so he proposed. They married soon after, but she wasn't seen often until his death, almost ten years later. Rumors quickly spread that she had her husband killed and blamed her stepdaughter for it, which is why the princess went on the run."

"That's when I helped her hide from the Evil Queen. But the Queen found out somehow after Snow left and took me to her prison to set an example." Marian added. "She was going to kill me and Princess Leia... Emma for helping her."

"You said she wasn't seen much after they married... Why?" Arthur asked David.

"No one really knows. Some say it was because she was ashamed that she never produced a male heir, as was her duty as Queen. Others think it was because the King was afraid her beauty would attract men closer to her age that would try to steal her away. Later, many said she was holed up in the castle, practicing her dark magic."

"Actually, I usually practiced my dark magic outside the castle walls. Deep in the forest, so my husband didn't know."

Robin sat up quickly, pulled out of story time as he heard Regina's voice. He heard the shuffle of his men standing quickly and when he stepped out of his tent he saw them all facing their surprise guest with shocked and sheepish expressions.

"You do have the second part right, though. The King was always worried that I would leave him for a younger man, so he forbade me from being around any of them. The guards were the only men but most of them were loyal to him, so they obeyed his order not to talk to me. Luckily for me, the younger ones had yet to form a strong sense of loyalty to him, so I convinced them that it was okay to be my friend."

"That's how you came up with your Black Knights so quickly after the King's death? You used the ones that had grown loyal to you?" Another Merry Man asked.

"Indeed. Do you have any other rumors about my past that you would like me to dispel or may I get on with what I came here for?" Regina raised her eyebrow and looked around at each of them.

"Actually..." Arthur started.

Robin cursed his boldness as he walked up to him. "Arthur, enough." The young man fell silent as Robin looked at his men. "I think it best everyone settles in for the night. We will talk in the morning about the plan to deal with the Ice Queen. For now, I bid you goodnight."

The men quickly scattered, embarrassed to have been caught gossiping about the former queen. Some of them shot her apologetic smiles, to which she nodded. Marian hesitated off to the side, waiting for her husband.

"I am so sorry about that. It was incredibly rude and out of line-" Robin asked before she could say anything.

Regina waved her hand. "I'm quite used to it. It's not that big of a deal."

Robin nodded, not sure how to proceed. He wanted desperately to talk to her, but not with Marian so close by. "How is your shoulder?"

"Good as new." She gave him an awkward smile. "But that's not why I came here." She held up a stuffed monkey Robin hadn't even realized she was holding onto, so absorbed with staring at her face he was. "Roland forgot this."

Robin remembered his boy holding onto it tightly when they were at Regina's house just a week ago but he figured Roland must had forgotten it there when they went to get ice cream. In the excitement that his mother was back, he hadn't realized his favorite toy was missing. "Ah, he'll be quite happy to get his favorite monkey back. Thank you."

Regina handed it to him with a small smile. "Of course." She moved to leave.

"Regina." Robin stopped her. "He misses you. A lot. Is it okay...it is okay if I bring him to see you tomorrow?"

The brunette's eyes glanced at Marian, waiting impatiently behind him. "Maybe it's best if he forgets about me."

Robin shook his head. "No, it's not. He's taken quite the shining to you, Regina. Please, don't shut him out."

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Maybe you can drop him off some other time."

Even though Robin understood why she wouldn't want him to be there, he couldn't help but feel hurt. How badly he had messed things up. "As you wish."

Regina nodded and waved at Marian quickly before disappearing the way she came. Robin sighed as he turned around and led Marian to their tent, not bothering to say a word as he laid down and tried his best to fall asleep.

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_what do you think?_


	3. Chapter 3

_a looooong chapter below. and another long one next too. _

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Regina opened her door the next morning after a restless night and was surprised to see Roland standing in her doorway. He gave her a dimpled grin as he walked into her house and headed to her kitchen, where he struggled to climb up onto one of the chairs by the island. Regina closed the door, followed him in, and helped him up before leaning on the counter next to him. "Roland?"

"I missed you, 'Gina."

"I missed you too, Roland. But what are you doing here?" Regina ran her fingers through his dark curls.

"Papa promised he would take me to see you. When I woked up he gave me my monkey and said we couldn't go see you for awhile. But you promised I could stay with you and Henry! How come you haven't come to see me since we got ice cream?"

"It's complicated, Roland. I'm sorry. Does your papa know that you are here?"

"No. He and Mama were yelling and Little John didn't see me go. I'm a good hider!" The boy boasted proudly.

"Oh, honey. Your parents are going to be so worried. I'm going to bring you back to the camp." Regina said sternly.

Roland shook his head and gave her his best puppy face. "No, I wanna spend the day with you."

Regina sighed and broke down. "Okay, dear. But let me make sure your father knows you are here, first."

The boy grinned happily as Regina grabbed her phone and moved into the other room. She knew Robin didn't have a cell phone because he had laughed when she suggested he get one. Apparently he had many new things to get used to in this world before he would try to understand phones. So she called David, who was still Sheriff.

He answered quickly. "Regina? How is Tinkerbell getting along with using the wand?"

"Fine. I need you to go to Robin's camp for me."

"Uh, okay. Is everything alright?"

"Roland showed up on my doorstep a few moments ago and I'm sure his parents are very worried. He wants to spend the day with me, but they should know that he is safe."

"He left the camp without anyone seeing him?" David asked in surprise.

"His father is a thief. He probably learned how to be sneaky from him."

"Impressive. I'll head to the camp now."

"Thank you, David." Regina said before hanging up. She moved back to the kitchen.

"Do you have chocolate milk like last time?" Roland asked cheerfully. He had pulled off his jacket, hat, and mittens and left them on the island next to him.

"Of course I do." Regina grabbed a glass from her cabinet and filled it with chocolate milk before handing it to him. "What do you say I make you breakfast and then we can go to the park?"

"Okay, 'Gina! Do you want to build a snowman?"

"We'll see. Maybe Henry will make one with you. But first, you have to go wake him up."

Roland looked excited as he jumped off the chair and ran up the stairs. Regina chuckled to herself. Roland had quickly taken a shine to Henry as soon as he met him and despite her awkward relationship with his father, the thought still warmed her heart. Henry had also liked being around the younger boy. She sighed as she thought of her little prince who wasn't so little anymore. Henry had known immediately how upset she was when Marian returned, so he followed her home and had insisted on staying with her since. He did everything he could to cheer her up, including asking her if she wanted him to get his grandfathers together to have a 'chat' with Robin. She declined with laughter in her eyes and popped in the first movie of many that night. Since that first night, he had barely left her side except when she went to Wonderland. He made it his job to continuously remind her of how strong and loved she was. She knew she owed it to Henry for her being able to stay good. Without him, it would have been so easy for her to sink into the darkness once more.

Regina grabbed the ingredients to make pancakes and went to work cooking them. Roland returned and watched her in interest. He quickly ate the pancakes she put in front of him, drowning them in the stuff Regina called syrup. She chuckled as he finished the last one. Henry joined them, sleep making his eyes unfocused and his hair messy. He grabbed a few of his favorite pancakes and ate them even faster than Roland did. Regina drank her coffee before helping the younger boy wash his sticky hands.

The combination of pancakes and cinnamon sprinkled hot chocolate seemed to finally wake up Henry, who looked closely at his mother. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm alright, Henry." She had rushed home after the meeting the previous day and because her mind kept thinking of Robin's worried face and attempt to talk to her about the other night, she forgot that Henry would be waiting for her.

_"__Mom?" Henry's voice echoed through the hallway as he heard the front door open. Regina sighed; she forgot that he would be home. Her shoulder ached but she didn't want him to see the result of her distractedness in her mother's castle. She moved to go upstairs when her son entered the foyer. _

_"__Mom?" He repeated. His eyes widened when he saw the deep punctures on her shoulder. She moved to cover them, but with a few long strides he was grabbing her wrist and pushing away her collar to see the wound better. "What happened to you? Your note said you were going to Wonderland for a little while to see if you could find something that could help us defeat Elsa. You promised to be careful!"_

_"__I'm sorry, Henry. I accidently set off a trap. But I'm okay. I just wanted to clean the wound better before I healed it."_

_"__You should have gone straight to the hospital to see a doctor." He scolded, sounding much like an adult as he led her to the kitchen and pointed to the chair. He reached for the cabinet where Regina kept the first aid supplies and pulled out antiseptic and bandages._

_Regina didn't say anything as he dipped a towel in the antiseptic and carefully tended to her wound as Robin had done earlier. Again, she hissed at the stinging pain. She looked up at her son, wondering just when he had grown up so much. Was it during the past year? Or in the few years she had spent fighting Emma for him? "You don't have to take care of me, Henry."_

_He met her eyes, knowing that she wasn't just talking about right now. She meant he didn't have to make sure she was okay after her heartbreak. "I know." He said simply. "If it's okay with you, I thought we could have another movie night. You still haven't seen the first Captain America, you know."_

_She smiled gratefully at Henry's decision to stay with her anyways. "I haven't? Wasn't that the one with the hammer?"_

_Henry pretended to be disappointed in her lack of knowledge. "No, that's Thor. The second movie just came out on DVD. We could watch that too."_

_"__The second one?"_

_He sighed. "You've got a lot to catch up on." He finished cleaning up her wound so it wouldn't get infected and handed her the bandages._

_She shook her head. "I won't need that." She waved her hand over her wound slowly, healing it as she went. Henry watched with great interest. He smiled as she left healed skin behind her hand._

_"__Where was that magic when I fell and cut my knee a million times when you taught me how to ride a bike?" He joked._

_Regina chuckled. "Trust me, dear, I wished I had my magic back whenever you were hurt."_

_He sat next to her with a serious look. "Was that the only time you missed your magic?"_

_She nodded. "I didn't need it anymore. You were all I ever needed." Henry smiled brightly at her. She rubbed his cheek with her thumb lightly. "Thank you, for being here for me."_

_"__Of course. You're my mom. You've taken care of me for most of my life, even if I wasn't always grateful for it." He looked down, guilt flooding his heart at the thought of how he treated his adoptive mother. "I kind of owe you."_

_Regina matched his smile._

_"__I'm glad you're okay. But next time, don't go running off to another world alone. I'd prefer if you'd bring me so we could have an adventure together, but I guess anyone would suffice. Did you find anything?" He asked._

_"__A wand that will help stop Elsa. And a few other things I transported to my vault, but I don't think they will help us with her."_

_He nodded. "Good. I also found something."_

_Regina looked at him in surprise as he got up and left for a minute. He returned with a familiar stuffed monkey._

_"__I found it in my room, behind the bed. It must have fallen there when Roland jumped on the bed." He smiled as he recalled the boy's laughter when he discovered the bounciness of the bed he was on. "Do you want me to return it to him?"_

_"__No." She shook her head. "I can do it."_

_He gave her a worried look. "Are you sure you want to see his father?"_

_"__I don't want to, but I have to see him around town anyways, especially since he is part of the council. I won't stay long."_

_"__Okay, mom. Call me if you need me to make him leave you alone."_

_She chuckled as she stood and put on her coat. She pressed a kiss to his forehead before grabbing the monkey. "Will do, dear. I'll be back soon."_

_"__Love you, mom."_

_"__Love you too."_

She was pulled out of her memories by Roland tugging at her pants. She looked down to see him holding his jacket up to her so she helped him back into it before he pulled his hat and mittens back on.

"To the park!" He exclaimed.

Regina laughed. "Yes, to the park now." She smiled as he wrapped his fingers around her hand. "Henry, would you like to come?"

He smiled at Roland's excitement. "I promised Emma I would go talk to her this morning. I kinda just told her I was staying with you for awhile and I think she believes I'm mad at her for… you know. If I can, I'll meet you for lunch."

"Sounds good." Regina paused for a moment. She knew how angry her son was at his other mother for ruining her happy ending with Robin. She was angry as well but she also realized that it wasn't all her fault. She was proud of her son for sticking up for her, but she knew how horrible it was to have her own son mad at her. "Just be nice, Henry. She was trying to do the right thing."

Surprise filtered over Henry's face before it settled into a proud look. He was glad that his mother was still changing, still becoming better. "I will, Mom. Have fun at the park."

She squeezed Roland's hand with a smile and led him outside. The young boy asked her questions about some of the places they passed. Once they got to the clocktower, he stopped to look up at it.

"What's in there?"

"That's the clocktower. There is a library in it." She bent down to be at eye level with him. She smiled mischieviously. "Some say there is a great big dragon below the library, ready to strike when anyone goes down there!"

Roland's eyes widened. "A dragon? Does it breathe fire?"

Regina nodded. "Many brave knights have gone against her, but only two have come out alive."

"Who?" He asked curiously.

"Prince Charming and his daughter, Emma."

"Wow!"

"Roland!?"

Regina and Roland looked up to see a frantic looking Robin and Marian running towards them. They both stopped to kneel in front of their son.

Marian pulled Roland into her arms. "Oh, thank the gods, you're okay!"

"I'm fine, Mama. 'Gina is taking me to the park!"

The parents looked at Regina, who moved to stand. Marian pushed Roland behind her, towards Robin as the two of them stood as well. "I should have known it was you. Did you put some kind of spell on him so you could lure him to you?"

"I believe you are thinking of another witch, dear." Regina said dryly. "One that was blind and lived in a candy house. But she's been dead for a long time, so you don't have to worry."

Marian slapped the other woman and Regina stepped back in surprise. She held her cheek, fire burning in her eyes as she stared at her.

"Marian?" Robin cried out in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"This witch shouldn't be around our son, Robin! I don't care if everyone thinks she has changed. She's still evil and she is a danger to Roland."

"Mama, no!" Roland stepped around his mother and moved to hold Regina's hand again. He smiled up at her. "I love 'Gina. She's nice to Papa and me."

"Roland, you are too young to see past her pretending to be nice." Marian scolded and picked him up, tearing his hand away from Regina's.

"Marian, Regina isn't going to harm Roland. I told you, she isn't the Evil Queen anymore." Robin defended.

Regina held her hand up to stop him from continuing. "I don't blame you for not believing that I have changed. But I assure you, I would never harm Roland. I have a son now, and I love him more than anything. I lost him once and I would never wish that upon anyone else. You can trust that your son is always safe with me."

"I don't trust you, actually. In fact, I'm going to ask you to stay away from my boy." Marian said. She held him closely as she walked towards the other side of the street. "Let's go, Robin."

The mayor stared after her in surprise as Roland tried to get down from Marian's arms and run to her.

"Regina, I'll talk to her." Robin started. "She's upset that Roland wants you and not her and I've tried to explain-"

She shook her head. "Wait. Did you notice that it's gotten so much colder in the last few minutes?" She looked at the store window next to them, which had frosted over quickly. The road was even worse and they could tell Marian was having a difficult time keeping her balance on the ice.

"Ice. Everything is ice. The queen must be close." Robin guessed as he looked around them. "Marian!"

She ignored her husband's call. Regina grabbed his arm and pointed to the end of the street. "There she is. She's heading straight towards…Marian."

Robin gasped and tried to run to his oblivious wife. "Marian! Marian, stop!" He slipped on the ice, and fell.

Regina caught Roland's tear filled eyes as he wailed over Marian's shoulder and knew she had to do something. She conjured a fireball and threw it on the ice in front of her, thawing it enough that she could walk quickly on it. She kept doing that over and over again, moving closer to Marian and Roland. The Ice Queen was also moving closer. She raised her hand and threw ice at the mother and child. Marian finally realized she was in danger and she screamed.

Regina dove forward, crying out as she felt a pain through her chest. She fell to the ground, feeling her heart turn cold. She heard Robin yell in pain behind her before he called her name frantically. she ignored him, scrambling to stand in front of Marian. She held out her hands, ready to conjure up her magic.

The other queen only laughed.

"Marian, get Roland to Granny's diner, now." Regina ordered. She felt the woman turn and run as fast as she could without slipping.

"White looks good on you, Your Majesty." Elsa drawled.

Regina frowned and reached up to touch her hair. She saw lightened hair out of the corner or her eye and pulled on the piece so she could see it. The strand was ice white. "Do you honestly think a little hairstyle change will stop me from getting rid of you?"

"No. But I do think the ice in your heart will." Elsa grinned as Regina put her hand over her heart and looked shocked. "You will finally feel the pain I have felt since my sister disappeared. Your heart will get colder and colder until finally... it will freeze. You ought to tell your loved ones goodbye now."

Regina ignored her words, putting them in the back of her mind to deal with later. "Your sister isn't here, Elsa. There is no reason to hurt the people in this town."

"She must be here! I told you, the only reason she would leave home...leave me...is if she was taken. I know that Rumpelstiltskin was always looking for people with strong powers and when I refused to work with him, he took my sister as leverage! I know that you were his partner, you must have helped. You have to know where she is."

"If Rumple wanted to use your powers he would have had your sister killed in front of you and then manipulated your feelings until you were weak and ready to listen to him. Trust me, I know how he works. He wouldn't hide her from you for so long."

Elsa was crying now, the tears freezing as soon as they rolled down her cheeks. They shattered into pieces when they hit the ground. "You're lying." She held up her hands, ice forming quickly.

"Don't make a single move." Robin threatened. He finally made it close enough to Regina to pull her backwards before he notched an arrow in his bow and pointed it at the Ice Queen. "How do we reverse the ice in her heart?"

Elsa shrugged. "I don't know. I've only been able to control my powers once. My sister reminded me that love could thaw everything. But after she disappeared, I forgot how to love and I lost control again. She's the only one that can save us."

Regina watched as the girl dropped to her knees and sobbed. She felt Robin's hand wrap around her bicep and she glanced at him. He nodded his head towards a point behind Elsa. She looked up and saw Tinkerbell tiptoeing on the ice towards them, fire wand in hand. Charming and Emma weren't far behind her. Elsa started to stand again and Regina thought quickly to keep her occupied while Tink made her way closer. She turned and magically pushed Robin back across the street, forming a barrier to protect him and also stop him from trying to assist her. Then she sent a fireball towards Elsa, drawing her into a fight.

The light haired Queen looked angry as she blocked the fireball. In her hand formed a sharp icicle, which she threw at Regina. The brunette ducked and conjured another fireball, aiming at her head. Elsa yelled in frustration as the fire tinged the ends of her hair. The next icicle sliced open Regina's cheek and she gasped in pain. She blocked the next icicle and it shattered into a million pieces on the shield she conjured. She looked behind Elsa quickly to see that Tink was close. She just needed one more distraction. Only she was the one distracted, so she didn't see Elsa's next attack. She heard Robin screaming her name before she felt something tear through her shoulder, the one she had just repaired.

She fell, too shocked to do anything but put her hand over the wound. Elsa stood over her and grabbed the icicle, pushing it in deeper. Regina groaned in pain.

"For the last time, where is my sister?" She asked.

"I think you must have snow in your ears, dear. For the last time, she isn't here." Regina sneered.

Elsa raised her hand up to hold a sharp icicle above Regina. "I don't even need to kill you. The ice in your heart will do the job for me. And your helplessness will make it all the more painful."

Regina opened her mouth to snark back when Elsa gasped and the ice on her hand melted instantly. Tink pushed the Queen out of the way and pointed the wand at her. "Don't even think about trying anything, bitch."

The girl formed ice once more anyways. Tink flicked the wand at her and it flashed bright orange as it hit the Queen. Again, the ice melted and Elsa fell. Tink used the wand to form fiery handcuffs on Elsa to contain her. Charming forced her to stand.

"You're done terrorizing this town, Elsa." Emma said triumphantly.

Tears leaked from her cheeks again. "I just want Anna back."

"We...we can try a locator spell for you." Tink offered. "But you have to try and contain your powers. And behave while you're in jail."

"Why would you do that for me? After I've frozen this whole town and tried to hurt you?"

Tink shrugged and looked at Regina, who had melted the icicle in her shoulder and was struggling to stand. She waved her hands to release Robin and he hurried to join them, slipping on the ice. Tink watched him struggle to get to Regina. "We all deserve to be with the ones we love. And I believe in second chances. Maybe if we find your sister, she can help you control your powers and you can be good again."

"Maybe." Emma said doubtfully. "But for now, we're bringing you to the station."

She nodded to David and they pulled the Queen towards the Sheriff Station.

Robin finally reached Regina and he pulled her into his arms, squeezing tightly. He only let her go when she groaned in pain, clutching her shoulder. "Don't you dare ever do that again."

"Start a fight with an Ice Queen or stop you from killing yourself?" She asked with a small smile.

"Both." Robin smiled, running his fingers through her hair. He wrapped his finger around the white strand. "If Tinkerbell hadn't been there, she would have killed you."

"But she was." Regina realized their proximity and took a step back, avoiding his hurt look. "I'm fine, Robin."

"No, you're not. Let's get you the the hospital."

"Robin-" She started.

He shook his head and put his hand on her shoulder carefully. "This time, I'm not letting you argue with me. Your shoulder is wounded again."

"Let's not forget about your frozen heart. There _must_ be something they can do for you."

Robin and Regina looked at Tink in surprise. They had forgotten she was there. The fairy winked at Regina, who took another step back as she glanced at Robin's tattoo.

"She said love would thaw it." Robin recalled.

Regina avoided his eyes and Tink's gleeful face as she watched them.

"Maybe she means True Love's Kiss." The fairy suggested with a smile.

The brunette shot her a dirty look. "Have Henry meet me at the hospital, okay?" She didn't wait for Tink's response before she grabbed Robin's arm and magically transported them to the hospital.

Robin looked stunned as the purple smoke faded around them. A few nurses looked up as they appeared. The archer shook off the dizziness produced by the sudden transportation and pulled Regina towards them. "Can we have some help here?"

He explained to her what happened as Regina glanced around them, feeling cold even though she knew the hospital was always warm. The nurse nodded. "Let me get Dr. Whale."

Regina sighed. "Isn't there any other doctor?"

"I'm afraid not." She said shortly before leaving to find the doctor.

"You don't like this Dr. Whale?" Robin asked.

She shook her head. "He...was part of Rumple's plan to make sure I would cast the curse."

Robin thought about what she said about him to Elsa. "He helped the Dark One manipulate your feelings?"

She looked down at her hands. "He convinced me he could bring Daniel back from the dead. He gave me hope and then crushed it. It was part of a deal with Rumple. That hope was the only thing that was keeping me good. Without it... I gave into my hate, into the darkness. I turned into this monster. I ruined so many lives. Robin, I killed your wife! Because she helped my stepdaughter hide from me. I'm not blaming Whale for the monster I became. I know it's all on me. But things could have been different if he hadn't pretended to save Daniel for me."

"I understand. Sometimes things are out of our control..." Robin started. Regina could tell he meant to bring up Marian's return, but she wasn't ready to discuss it so she looked down. He understood, as he always had, and let the subject go. "It seems to me the Dark One would have done anything to get you to to cast his curse. But you have changed. You regret what you did. And since Emma and Killian brought Marian back, you technically didn't kill her."

Regina met his eyes. "You aren't angry about that?"

"Like I said, I understand that you aren't the same person."

"Thank you." Regina whispered.

Whale entered the room and called Regina's name, interrupting Robin's response. She looked at the former outlaw and smiled. "Thank you, Robin. I'll be okay from here. You should make sure Marian and Roland are fine."

"Of course. But I should be thanking you. You saved them, Regina. No matter what anyone says in this town, you are not the Evil Queen in any way. She wouldn't have done something so selfless. Only heroes do that." He smiled and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Regina smiled as she watched him leave. Whale cleared his throat and she sighed before turning to him and following him to an exam room.

Robin calling her a hero seemed to echo in her mind as the doctor stitched up her shoulder.

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_thoughts?_


	4. Chapter 4

_another long one. sorry it's taken so long to update. i started a new job and i got distracted from writing. but thank you so much to those of you who reviewed! it means so much. enjoy!_

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Tinkerbell and Henry were waiting for her when Whale finished bandaging her up. The fairy jumped up to greet her while Henry ran to engulf her in a tight hug. "Regina! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, dear. You did it! You stopped Elsa!" Regina congratulated her.

"Now we just have to end the winter. Perhaps she will help us with that if we can find her sister." Tink paused. "How is your heart?"

"It's...cold." She said as Henry pulled back.

"I can save you! I love you, Mom." He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Did it work?"

Regina put her hand over her heart and shook her head. "I don't think so." She shared a worried look with Tink over Henry's head. "I'm sure Elsa knows how to fix it, dear. You don't have to worry."

"We should bring you to the station! To talk to her now." He suggested and grabbed her hand.

She shook her head, realizing that she didn't want Henry to know that Elsa didn't know what to do. "I'll talk to her later. For now, we should make sure no one was hurt. Let's keep my heart between us though, alright?"

Tink and Henry nodded. He wrapped his arm around his mother's waist. "Tinkerbell said you saved Marian and Roland."

"It seems Elsa was so bent on making everyone pay for her sister, she was willing to hurt a mother and child. I told Marian to go to Granny's. Let's head over there now." She suggested.

"I told you that you were a hero." Henry said with a proud smile on his face. "First defeating Zelena with light magic and now saving innocent people."

"I agree. It seems you aren't done changing yet." Tink said, equally proud.

Regina blushed before she grabbed Tink's arm and pulled her with them. Tink pulled out the wand and used it to melt some of the ice as they walked through the streets.

As soon as they walked into Granny's the occupants began applauding. The three newcomers glanced around with confused looks on their faces. Snow stood with Neal in her arms and smiled at them. Charming wrapped one arm around her and raised the glass in his other hand.

"To Regina and Tinkerbell, the heroes of the day!" He said loudly.

The others echoed him, raising their glasses as well. Tink grinned broadly. Regina looked stunned.

"The plan worked." Snow said. "Even though it was a few days earlier than expected."

"Thank god. I'm sick of this winter!" Grumpy grumbled. Some of the other dwarves nodded in agreement.

Tinkerbell shook her head. "We owe it all to Regina. If it wasn't for her selflessness, we would have lost some lives today and Elsa would have seen me before I had the chance to use the wand. Regina distracted her for me, at the risk of her own life."

Regina started to object when Tinkerbell grabbed a glass offered to her by Ruby and held it up. "To Regina!"

The crowd echoed her this time and Regina blushed again. "Well it isn't over yet. Elsa still has to end the winter. And we have to try and find her sister. Where is Gold?"

Ruby cleared her throat. "Uh, well he's out of town."

"He left Storybrooke?" Emma asked in surprise. "Why?"

"He and Belle are...on their honeymoon." The dark haired wolf spilled. "I don't know when they will be back."

Regina sighed. "Of course he disappears now."

"Great, now the winter will never end." Grumpy mumbled.

"Honeymoon? They got married? Oh, that's wonderful!" Snow exclaimed, ignoring the mayor and the dwarf.

Killian looked angry as he pushed his way through the crowd towards the door. Emma looked surprised as she followed him.

"Is there anyway to contact him?" Tink asked the waitress. "We, uh, need his help finding Elsa's sister."

Regina gave her a grateful smile for keeping her frozen heart a secret.

"Sure. I can call Belle."

"Tell her it's extremely important. A life is on the line." The fairy stressed.

Ruby frowned, confusion spreading across her face, but she nodded anyways.

"Until Gold returns, we should celebrate!" Tinkerbell said. She pushed Regina towards Snow, who smiled softly.

"How are you feeling?"

Regina sighed, starting to get sick of people asking her that. She touched her shoulder gently, grateful for the painkillers Whale had given her. "I'm okay." She looked down at the baby in Snow's arms. "How are you adjusting to having this little guy?"

"It's been...exhausting, honestly. He hasn't slept through the night even once."

Regina chuckled as she looked at her son, who was talking to Granny. "Henry was like that too. He cried and cried and cried. I thought something was wrong with him at first. But it doesn't last, luckily for our sanity."

Snow laughed as she looked up at her former stepmother. "Would you like to hold him?"

Regina looked over at her again, wondering how many times she would be surprised tonight. She glanced at Charming, who was smiling. "I-of course. I'd love to."

Snow handed her the baby and Regina found herself lost in the newborn's light blue eyes. Neal was the first baby she had held since Henry and she thought about when she adopted him. He cooed happily in her arms and Regina smiled tearfully.

"Regina?"

She looked up as she heard her name being called hesitantly. Marian was standing nervously off to the side.

"Marian. Are you and Roland alright?"

The other woman nodded as Regina looked around for the boy who had easily wormed his way into her heart. "Yes. He's with his father. If you don't mind, I wish to speak to you about earlier."

"Of course." Regina said. She handed Neal back to his mother with a grateful smile. "Excuse me."

Snow nodded in understanding and Regina followed Marian into the hallway. The bandit's wife tried to smile. "I wanted to apologize and also thank you. I shouldn't have doubted that you would protect my son. You saved our lives. I was foolish to run away when there was so much danger out there."

"I believe I owe you after I separated you from your family. I am truly sorry, Marian. I was lost in pain and revenge and I took it out on my stepdaughter and anyone affiliated with her. I know saving your life doesn't make up for the pain I caused-"

"No, it doesn't." Marian interrupted. She met the queen's surprised look. The other woman clearly hadn't expected her to openly agree. "But, I certainly appreciate it. A lot of things here will be hard to get used to, but I think after today, it won't be quite as hard for me to think of you as someone other than the Evil Queen."

Regina smiled gratefully. "Thank you. If you'll allow me, I'd like to show you that I'm not her. Perhaps you and Roland can come over to have dinner with my son Henry and I at some point."

Marian nodded slowly. "Perhaps Princess Leia- Emma, I mean, and Killian could join us? Just at first."

"Of course." Regina said in understanding. She couldn't blame her for not wanting to be left alone with the woman who almost killed her. She sighed internally knowing she would have to make up with the Savior soon.

"Thank you." Marian said before she moved to find a familiar face.

Regina leaned against the wall in the hallway, feeling her heart chill a little more. A mirror on the wall across from her showed another strand of hair turning white. She gasped as she saw it.

"'Gina!"

She schooled her features quickly as Roland ran towards her, followed closely by his father. She bent down to pick him up. "Roland, how are you?"

"Okay. You saved me and Mama!" He hugged her neck tightly. Robin met her eye with a smile, which Regina hesitantly returned. "Papa said you defeated the witch."

"We did, dear. She won't be able to hurt you again, I promise."

"Did you turn her into a toy too?" He held out his hand expectantly.

Regina chuckled as Robin shook his head. "Roland, you already have your monkey. Why don't you find Little John?"

The boy looked reluctant to leave, so Regina knelt down to put him on the ground but remained at eye level. "I heard he was a bit scared of the witch earlier. Do you think you could be a brave knight and make him feel protected?"

Roland's eyes light up. "Of course!" With the mission in mind, he scurried off to find Robin's second-in-command.

Regina stood and glanced at Robin, unsure of what to say.

"Did Henry's kiss help you?"

She shook her head. "I'm afraid not."

"It looks like it's getting worse. Your hair is becoming more white." He said, the worry clear in his blue eyes.

Regina frowned, unsure of how to react to his concern. She asked, half-joking, "Does it look bad?"

"No." He said after a moment.

She raised her eyebrow. "You hesitated."

"No, I didn't." He denied quickly.

She struggled to resist the urge to roll her eyes at his defensiveness. "I'm sure that when Rumple returns he will know what to do to thaw my heart."

"I think you already know what needs to be done." Robin took a step closer and put his fingers under her chin, lightly forcing him to meet his eye.

She glanced at his lips and opened her own lips expectantly. He leaned closer and she closed her eyes, feeling his breath on her lips.

"Robin?"

They broke apart quickly just before Marian joined them in the hall. She gave Regina a small smile before turning to her husband.

"There you are, my love. I think Roland is growing tired. He's had enough of an adventure today. Shall we bring him home now?"

"Uh, of course." Robin said with a glance to Regina.

The mayor smiled at him. "I should make sure Tinkerbell isn't drinking herself under the table. Excuse me." She left before Robin could protest.

She sighed in relief as she escaped into the crowded diner and joined her fairy friend at the bar. She focused on the drink Granny slid to her when the Locksley family left the diner together. As usual, she could feel Robin's concerned look at her back before Marian pulled him out the door.

"You look like you've aged a hundred years today." Granny commented cheerfully. "Maybe you should find a new hairdresser. Ask around to see who does a good job covering up the grays."

Regina scowled at her. "It's not gray. It's white. An old woman like you should know the difference."

Granny shrugged. "If you say so."

Tinkerbell stopped her from responding as the wolf walked away. "She just likes to rile you up. Relax."

Regina shot her a dirty look and swallowed the rest of her drink. "It's freezing in here."

Tinkerbell gave her a worried look. "It's actually quite warm with all the people in here. Are you feeling okay? Maybe we should try and locate the Dark One tonight."

Regina waved her concern away. "I'll be fine. Something tells me I have until all of my hair turns white. I think I'll just go home and bury myself under a bunch of covers next to a fire."

"Sounds like a plan." Tinkerbell stood and looked at her expectantly. At Regina's confused look she laughed. "You don't honestly think I'm going to leave you alone, do you? Let's go."

"I don't need a guardian angel." Regina said sarcastically.

"I'm no angel. I'm a fairy." She responded seriously. Regina gave her a look, wondering if she missed the sarcasm. Tink laughed. "Anyways, angels don't raid your liquor cabinet, which I certainly plan on doing. I already told Henry that I was going to stay with you tonight, so he is going to stay with Snow and Charming to bond with his uncle for awhile."

Tink held out her arm for Regina to wrap her arm around, reminding her of when she first met the fairy. Regina smiled and took her arm and allowed her to lead the way back to the Mayoral Mansion.

* * *

True to her word, Tinkerbell found Regina's wine cabinet and together they finished two bottles of wine. A few hours later, the usually serious brunette was giggly as she led the blonde to her guest bedroom and leaned on the doorway.

Tinkerbell paused and looked at her, suddenly serious. "You're going to get him."

"Who?" Regina asked, confusion coloring her features. Her alcohol fuddled brain was slow to understand what she was talking about.

"Robin." She shook her head when Regina sighed and started to interrupt. "No, Regina. He is your Soul Mate. He's a good man, so he feels an obligation to be with his wife right now. But he won't be happy without you and soon enough he will do something about that. Let him kiss you, Regina, and thaw your heart."

"And then what? He knows he is my Soul Mate and he knows that he can save me. He might do it because it is the honorable thing to do, but he won't just miraculously leave his wife for me. And anyways, I can't destroy his family, Tink. Not again. His son has already lost his mother once."

"And he will gain another in you." The fairy ignored her look. "He loves you like a mother already. He's young, to him Marian is just a familiar lady he is supposed to call Mama. But he looks to you for comfort, not her. Regardless, whether or not you interfere, Robin will go back to you. He's struggling to do what he thinks is the right thing, but like I said, he can't be without you."

"Tink…" Regina said tearfully. "Please, don't get my hopes up. I need to move on as best as I can."

"No, you don't. You need to find him and kiss him!" Tink put her hands on Regina's shoulders and shook her lightly. "I believe that you belong together. You need to believe too." She pulled her into a hug before letting her go with a smile. "Go to bed for now. If your hangover isn't too bad in the morning, we'll talk more."

Regina chuckled. "Okay. Thank you, Tink. You're a good friend."

The fairy smiled happily, tears welling in her eyes at Regina finally admitting they were friends again after all these years. "Of course. You deserve happiness, Regina."

Regina retreated back to her room. After changing and burying herself under the covers, she fell asleep thinking of the people that she never thought would be there for her again. Snow, Tinkerbell, and Henry especially. Even without Robin, she couldn't help but feel lucky to be surrounded by those who loved her.

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_i love tinkerbell and i hope she and regina actually become good friends on the show. it would be fun. especially because tink will be demanding all the details about robin! thoughts? :) _


	5. Chapter 5

_so i had this whole story finished and __EreshkigalGirl__ left a review that made me think about the ending completely. she made some lovely points and i'm going to take her advice and make robin and regina's reunion difficult. she's right in saying that robin's decision to stay with his wife isn't based on some gentlemanly duty that he feels, but because he genuinely loves her. he wouldn't have told regina that he would have walked through hell to reunite with marian if he didn't. basically, that means robin's decision isn't going to be as easy as we wish it would be. so be prepared for the drama :) thank you __EreshkigalGirl__! hopefully you like what i'm doing _

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Regina found aspirin and a bottle of water on her bed stand when she woke up. She chuckled to herself as she took the pill before getting up and quickly getting ready. She found Tinkerbell downstairs staring at the Keurig like it was some kind of monster.

"Do you want some help?"

The fairy jumped at her voice, her hand going up over her chest. "Oh, Regina. I didn't hear you get up. I was going to make breakfast, but I forgot that I don't know how to use anything in this land."

Regina couldn't help but laugh at the fairy's frustrated look. "Don't worry, dear. I can show you."

She gathered the ingredients for pancakes as she had done with Roland just the day before. Like Roland, Tinkerbell watched her carefully, but she insisted on helping as much as she could. Regina smiled as Tink tried to flip a pancake on her own, but ended up dropping it messily on the pan. The fairy gave her a sheepish smile, which faded quickly as Regina gasped and moved her hand over her heart, her hair turning even more white. This time, however, it wasn't just a strand that became lighter. Regina saw Tinkerbell's scared look before everything around her went black and she found herself falling.

* * *

felt Tinkerbell's hands lightly pushing herback down.

"Relax, Regina. You passed out."

"We put the fire on for you. Are you feeling any warmer?" Regina heard Snow's worried voice and turned to look at her. The brunette was frowning at her.

"I'm okay, Snow." She said, even though she was shivering. "Henry-?"

"Is with David. We didn't want to worry him for now." Tink answered.

"Robin told us Elsa hit your heart with ice. Why didn't you tell us?" Snow asked.

Regina looked over to see Robin, whose worried face masked Snow's. She frowned at the thought of him telling people about her heart. She didn't like being seen as weak. "I didn't think it was a big deal." She grumbled as she tried to sit up slowly.

"Not a big deal?" Snow's voice rose. "She froze your _heart,_ Regina. You could…" The younger woman couldn't bring herself to continue. Robin put his hand on her shoulder comfortingly.

"She's going to be fine. We are going to save her." He said confidently as he watched Regina.

Tinkerbell gave Regina a pointed look.

Regina ignored Tinkerbell. "I don't understand why this is progressing so quickly. At first it was slow, but all of a sudden my hair is almost completely white?"

"It might have something to do with your magic. It's possible that your magic reacted with hers to freeze your heart faster." Tinkerbell said slowly, a worried look crossing her face.

"We should find Gold. If Henry can't thaw your heart with True Love's Kiss, the Dark One should know what to do. And quickly. We might not have a lot of time." Snow suggested. "Charming is watching a Henry and Neal, but I'll call Emma to track him down."

Regina shook her head. "Let him enjoy his honeymoon. His marriage will be on the rocks soon enough. Rumple can't go long without doing something that upsets Belle. I'll talk to Elsa and see if she can remember something to help us."

Robin shared a look with Snow. "Emma is at the Sheriff's Station now. She only knows that love can thaw it."

"By the looks of your hair, we don't have a lot of time to figure out what to do." Robin said carefully. Regina shot him a look. "We need to figure out something now."

"Snow, may I borrow you for a moment?" Tinkerbell said. She didn't wait for the pixie haired woman's response as she grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the kitchen, shooting Regina another look as she passed her.

"Don't waste your time." The fairy hissed, clearly wanting Regina to let him kiss her as they had discussed before time ran out.

"Regina-" Robin began.

Regina rubbed her hands up and down her arms, trying to stay warm. "I think you should go."

He sat on the couch next to her, pulling him into her arms tightly and rubbing her back. She automatically leaned closer to him, savoring his warmth. "Regina, I felt it when Elsa hit your heart. It felt like pain I've never known before. It must have something to do with the fact that we are Soul Mates. I can save you, I know I can. Let me try."

She smiled weakly. Despite Tinkerbell's pep talk last night, she still wasn't convinced she should interfere in his newly reunited family, no matter what her feelings were. "Let me go, Robin. It will be easier for your family if I'm not around reminding you of what you shouldn't have."

He shook his head angrily, pulling her closer as her shivering got worse. "Don't you dare. I love you."

"And I you." She confessed in a whisper. "But who needs a second chance when they have their first back?"

Robin cried out as the last of her hair turned white and she froze in his arms. He shook with the force of his sobs, but refused to let go of her. "I do, Regina. We belong together, no matter what. It won't be easy, but no true love story is. I will fight for you until my last breath."

He leaned down and pressed his warm lips to her frozen ones, tears striking the ice of her skin. He nestled his head on her shoulder as he clutched her body to his, ignoring the cold on his skin. The wracking of his body from his sobbing distracted him from the thawing of her body. In just seconds, she was able to breathe again and she gasped for air. Robin pulled back to look at her in shock as her hair returned to its normal raven color and her skin lost the paleness it had known since her heart was first frozen. Her eyes glistened with unshed tears.

"You should have let me go."

"As usual, a simple thank you would suffice." He choked out before he pulled her into a deep kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he reveled in her warmth. "I love you so, so much."

She smiled as the first tears finally fell. "I love you too."

Their kiss was broken up by Tinkerbell's happy yell. Regina braced herself as the fairy pulled them into a group hug. She groaned in irritation so Tink let them go with a smile on her face. Snow moved from the doorway to pull her into a happy hug as well.

"How did you-?" Regina asked.

"The wind. It always happens when a curse is broken by True Love's Kiss! Plus, we were looking out the window and the winter is ending." Tinkerbell explained quickly. "The kiss thawed everything."

"I don't understand. If Henry's kiss didn't work, why did Robin's?" Snow pondered slowly.

Regina met Robin's eye. "Because this isn't True Love. It's deeper than that."

Robin smiled widely. "The love of Soul Mates can thaw a frozen heart."

"Soul Mates?" Snow repeated happily. "Oh, Regina. That's wonderful!"

Regina looked down, but Robin leaned down to meet her eye. "Regina. I said I would fight for you and I will."

She gave him a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. Despite the fact he was convinced that he wanted to be with her, she knew his convictions would fade when he saw his wife. The woman he would have walked through hell to return to. Her arrival in Storybrooke was too new, her appearance from the dead hadn't sunk into him just yet. Once it did, he would realize the mistake he made and wish to reunite with his family. And Regina would be left on the sidelines yet again. She vowed not to let him hurt her again. For now, she would allow him to think everyone was okay, but when they were alone she would make sure he returned to Marian.

Robin was oblivious to Regina's internal war. Even though she had never been able to fool him before, he was too delighted about their kiss breaking the curse to truly study her face. He kissed her before pulling her into his arms again.

Tinkerbell sighed happily. Regina looked up and raised her eyebrows at her. The fairy got the hint. "Robin, you need to go talk to your wife, and Regina should rest while I go gather the ingredients for a location spell."

Snow nodded her head. "I agree. You need your rest. Robin, may I talk to you outside for a moment?"

The outlaw gave her a confused look before reluctantly letting go of Regina and following her into the kitchen. Snow turned to look at him, a serious look etched on her face. "Regina and I have a troubled past as you well know. But regardless, she is family to me. If you ever hurt her, I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your life. Understand?"

Robin's eyes widened in surprise. "I love Regina. I promise you I will spend the rest of my life making sure she knows that she is loved and she deserves only the best."

Snow stared at him. "I couldn't have picked anyone better for her. If you need help talking to your wife, don't go to my husband for advice."

"Why would I ask him?"

The new mother sighed. "It's a long story. When we were cursed, he was married and since we are True Loves we couldn't help but find each other and it got a bit messy."

"Oh." Robin replied, unsure of how else to respond. "I should probably get it over with. I think Marian already knows, but it still won't be easy. We've had a good marriage."

Snow frowned at the thoughtful look on his face. He looked like he was recalling memories from their relationship. "But you and Regina are Soul Mates."

Robin shook his head. "Right. I know we are meant to be together."

"Well, good luck." Snow said before turning to make Regina a hot cup of tea.

Robin walked into the other room again and pulled a surprised Regina into another kiss. He leaned his forehead on her own and smiled. "I'll be right back. I promise."

She nodded and watched him leave, knowing that wasn't true. He brushed past Henry, who ran towards her. He tackled her in a strong hug.

"Mom, you're okay! I felt the wind when I was with Grandpa and I knew the curse was broken and your heart was thawed but I just wanted to see you for myself."

"I'm good, Henry." She reassured him.

He looked back towards the door he came from. "Did I just bump into Robin Hood? He broke the curse?"

She nodded. "It was sacrifice that thawed my frozen heart."

Henry gasped in understanding. "He sacrificed his marriage for you."

"He's going to go talk to Marian now." Regina said quietly. Robin believed he was going to sacrifice his marriage, which is why the curse broke. Belief and love were the two most powerful things to break curses. She knew that from experience. And while she didn't doubt that Robin loved her, she knew he loved Marian more. How could he not? She was the mother of his child and his wife.

"At least she won't be too surprised." Henry leaned back on the couch, pulling on some of the blankets so he could join her under the covers.

She smiled as he scooted closer and cuddled with her as he had done when he was much younger. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "What do you mean?"

"Roland told me he ran away when his parents were arguing about you. And you said Marian was going to all the council meetings even though she didn't have to. I think she picked up on Robin's feelings for you and she was jealous. Plus, Roland loves you. I've seen him with his mother and he isn't as comfortable with her. That's probably why they were arguing. So when Robin tells her that he loves you and wants to be with you, she won't be completely blindsided."

Regina raised her eyebrows. "When did you get so smart?"

"Well I am your son, so I think I've always been like this." Henry replied with a smile.

She chuckled and pressed a kiss to his forehead as Snow entered the room and handed her a large steaming cup of tea. Regina gave her a warm smile and beckoned for her to join them on the couch. Snow's eyes lit up as she sat next to her grandson. Regina drank some of the tea as she listened to Henry's stories about baby Neal. His words were like a lullaby to her tired mind and she drifted off slowly.

* * *

**Robin's POV**

The former outlaw headed to the forest, feeling confident as he returned to the Merry Men's camp. It wasn't as if he doubted Regina's story about them being Soul Mates, but now that their kiss broke her curse, he knew they should remain together. Despite Marian's return, he was meant to be with Regina. His second chance was with her.

He would tell Marian tonight, after they put Roland to bed. He knew she suspected something already. She was angry that Roland always asked for Regina instead of her, which had led to their blowout the morning before. Roland was so young when Marian died. He only remembered her from the stories the Merry Men always told him. Robin tried to explain that it would take time for Roland to think of her as his mother and go to her for comfort, but Marian was furious that the former Evil Queen managed to worm her way into the boy's heart. Though she hadn't said so, Robin knew she thought Regina had wormed her way into his heart as well. Luckily, Robin didn't have to lie and tell her that wasn't true because Little John had realized Roland was missing. For the first time since Marian had returned, they put aside their issues and looked everywhere for their son. It was such a relief when Charming appeared at the camp and told them Roland had gone to Regina's house. Robin looked at Marian and watched the relief he felt mirrored on her face before her expression settled into one of anger.

"Our boy went to the Evil Queen?" She had asked.

Robin tried to explain that he was fine, but she shrugged him off and headed to town. They were so happy when they saw Roland safe in the main square. He had been completely surprised when Marian slapped Regina. He knew she was angry about the Evil Queen's presence in his life, but he was shocked his usually kind wife would tell her to stay away from their son. With the events that happened after he had barely been able to talk to her. Even when they returned to the camp after the celebration at Granny's, they hadn't talked because the Merry Men were so insistent on celebrating further and they had gone to bed late that night, instantly falling asleep. Tinkerbell had called Snow and explained everything the moment Regina passed out and she sent Emma to find him. He was woken up by Little John, who ushered him to where Emma was standing, waiting to tell him that Regina was worse. Once again, he hadn't talked to Marian. He just pressed a kiss to her cheek and promised to be back later.

His steps faltered as he thought about the look on her face when he left the camp in a rush. Disappointment was etched in her features. Robin had always hated when he disappointed her, from the moment they met. He wondered briefly when he had stopped thinking about that. When he hadn't cared about how she felt. Back when they were married, he had always made sure he knew how she felt and made sure she was happy. But since she had returned from the past he hadn't once bothered to make sure she was happy and adjusting to the new world. He felt guilty for a moment. He was happy with Regina and he wouldn't deny that, but he had once been happy with Marian. He had been so focused on his guilt over hurting Regina that he had been spending time with Marian out of a sense of duty as her husband. But he realized now was wrong. He was hurting both of them by doing that. He decided he owed Marian an apology before anything else happened.

Little John yelled out loud in excitement when he saw him. The bigger man put his arm around Robin and pulled him over to the fire. He waved his drink around in front of them as Robin chuckled.

"Men, our man is back from town to join our celebratory dinner!"

The Merry Men cheered. Roland stood on a log and copied the older men, yelling loudly. Marian laughed at her son.

"What are we celebrating this time?" Robin asked as he looked around them.

"The end of the winter! We saw the wind that told us the curse was broken and then the storm stopped. It's about bloody time everything started melting." Will informed him.

Robin laughed and accepted a beer one of the men handed him. "One winter is bad enough, but two is even worse. I'm glad it's over."

The men agreed in chorus, raising their drinks and clicking them together.

"What about Regina? Is she alright? I overheard Emma saying that her heart was frozen by Elsa and that she was getting worse and quickly." Arthur said sheepishly. "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I heard her say Regina's name and I was curious after her fight with the Ice Queen yesterday."

"She's going to be just fine." Robin said with a smile.

"But how did she thaw her heart?"

"True Love's Kiss." Robin glanced at Marian. He had a lot of explaining to do before he told her everything, so he took a deep breath before lying. "Henry saved her."

Arthur seemed to accept his answer as he passed him a plate of food. Robin took it gratefully and moved to sit next to his son. Roland smiled up at him. "'Gina saved us, Papa. She is okay now?"

"Yes, she's fine, my boy."

"Can you tell her I'm glad she is okay?"

"Of course I will." Robin said with a smile.

"Robin, do you remember that horrible winter when we met Marian?" Nicholas brought the small family into the conversation being held by the band of outlaws.

The leader chuckled as he glanced at his wife, who was smiling. "Of course. It was snowing harder than we expected as we waited to ambush a group of knights caring part of the King's gold."

"I stumbled upon Robin hiding by an accident. I was so lost and I just wanted to find my way back to the road!"

"And you tripped over me." Robin laughed and looked at her.

She joined him in laughing. "I suppose your hiding spot was better than you thought! Who knew that I would literally fall for my future husband?"

Robin smiled as she leaned onto his shoulder and reached for his hand, intertwining their fingers.

"And then we spent the next many months trying to keep you safe from Sheriff of Nottingham. It was quite the whirlwind romance."

"It was." Marian said quietly. Robin sensed that she was thinking about their not quite romantic relationship lately, so he was glad when the Merry Men continued talking about other times they robbed the rich. They talked about many of their adventures for a few hours before Robin noticed Roland struggling to stay awake. He looked up at Marian and they silently agreed to put the exhausted boy to bed. Roland refused to go to bed because he didn't want to miss out on the story time with the older men, but finally, he fell asleep.

Marian sighed tiredly as he sleep soundly. "And I thought he was hard to put to bed when he was younger."

Robin smiled. "He hates missing out on things that are happening. At least he sleeps through the night now."

She laughed. "Yes, I don't miss being woken up many times during the night."

It was silent between them for a few minutes.

"Marian-" Robin started, an apology on his lips.

"Do you remember what you said to me when I almost died?" She looked at him, her eyes studying his face. "You said that you couldn't imagine your life without me. But it seems that after my...death you learned how to. I don't blame you for that in any way. I'm glad you found happiness after my death. And you did such a wonderful job with Roland. But I know something is going on between you and Regina and I think we should talk about it."

Robin broke eye contact with her to look at their sleeping son.

"You aren't going to deny it?"

"I won't lie to you, Marian."

She sighed. "I don't know what to say."

He looked up at the sound of her whispered confession. "I'm not sure I do either." He sighed and ran his hand across his face. "I met her last year. She had just lost her son and she was sure she would never see him again. She fought that pain by sarcasm and biting words, but I always knew that she hurt more than she would ever show. There was something about her that drew me in. I knew that she was misunderstood. People were wary of her because her past as the Evil Queen, but as soon as she saved Roland, I realized that she was a different person. She hides behind the Evil Queen facade, but she's lived through a lot and only grown stronger because it."

"And you...you love her?" She asked hesitantly.

"Yes." Robin answered honestly. "I do. She's far from the person that was going to kill you, Marian."

"You broke her curse, not Henry."

It wasn't a question, but Robin nodded anyways. "She told me that years ago, when she was married to King Leopold, a fairy named Tinkerbell used fairy dust to find her Soul Mate, someone that would make her happy. She was too afraid to meet him, but she saw his -my- lion tattoo. I'm her Soul Mate. It was fated for us to fall for each other."

"Only my return complicates it." She sighed. "Who am I to get in the way of Soul Mates?"

Robin felt his heart break at the sound of her voice cracking. "Marian, I still love you. I'll always love you. It took me so long to move on after I lost you. I thought that I wouldn't survive without you. The only thing that kept me going was Roland. I knew I had to pull myself together for him. I needed happiness and I found it. Twice, actually. I know I haven't shown it, but I am truly happy that you are alive and here."

She smiled weakly. "Are you going to leave me?"

He hesitated.

"That's what you came back to do, isn't it? You broke her curse and returned to say goodbye to me." A sob burst from her mouth. "After everything we've been through, this is it? Our second chance is already over? I was so happy to be reunited with you, but now I think it would have been far less painful if the Queen had executed me."

"Please don't say that. I never meant to be a bad husband. I was faithful to you-"

"I know, Robin. I never doubted your honor. If being with me now is just a duty, I release you from it."

"You are not just a duty, Marian. I didn't risk my life to save you from the Sheriff, break into the Dark One's castle and endure his torture to cure your sickness just because I felt a duty to you. I love you, I always have." He reached over to her and was glad she didn't reject his touch. "I always will. But I also love Regina. No matter what I do, I hurt someone. I wish it didn't have to be that way."

"Me too." She whispered. "Are you sure this is what you want? To be with her?"

Robin sighed. He had been completely sure when he was leaving Regina's house. But now that he was having his first actual conversation with his wife since they were reunited, he felt his confidence disappearing. The dinner earlier had only served to remind him of why he fell in love with her. She had actually stumbled upon his hiding spot and at first he had been so angry with her for ruining their planned heist. Angry until he saw the fear in her eyes. It hadn't taken him long to convince her to trust him and open up about how she had escaped Nottingham to get away from the Sheriff, who tried to force her into marriage. He and the Merry Men protected her. She was easily accepted into the group, especially when one of her ideas allowed them to successfully ambush a King's heavily guarded carriage. She was never hesitant to jump into the adventure with him and he had quickly fallen in love with her. Despite her worry about the Sheriff being angry, he married her in a little church just a year after they met. When they found out she was pregnant, they planned one big heist before they retired to a little village to raise their boy. That heist was when she got sick and he knew that he would go through hell to save her. He nearly did. The Dark One's torture didn't stop him from stealing the wand to heal her in the end and he was so glad to be able to raise Roland with her. Until he lost her again and nearly lost himself in grief as well.

Now, he was thinking of how much he had always loved her. Even though she was clearly hurt, she was trying to understand how he felt. He was always amazed at the depths of her care for others.

He felt himself faltering as he tried to answer confidently. "Yes...No. I was sure, but now... I don't know, Marian. I love both of you so much and I don't know how to choose."

"Choose your family, Robin." She scooted closer and ran her fingers through his hair comfortingly. "Choose the happiness we had before everything. We can still retire together and raise Roland as we planned to do. We can give Roland a brother or sister as we talked about before."

"Marian..." Robin whispered, tears growing in his eyes as she reminded him of the future that was taken from them by her death.

"We used to imagine such a wonderful life together, my love. We were separated but now we have another chance to make all our dreams come true! Roland has his family back. Would you truly allow another woman to ruin that for him, for us?"

He closed his eyes, unsuccessfully trying to stop the tears. He felt her gently press her lips to his wet skin before she used her thumbs to wipe away his tears. When he opened his eyes again, she was crying too.

"I know things have been uneasy between us because of her and the fact that you have changed, but just give me some time to remind you of everything we have. I can remind you of all the reasons you fell in love with me and then perhaps your decision will be easier."

Robin shook his head, knowing that would only make his decision so much harder, but she stopped him. "Let me do this. You owe me a least a fighting chance against this woman."

"You're right. You're my wife. But I don't want it to be any harder than it already is." He regretted his words as soon as he saw the hope blossom in her eyes. She had seemed hesitant about how much of a chance she had to win him back, but now she knew his heart - or at least a part of it - still belonged to her. She just needed to win over the rest of his heart, the pieces that belong to Regina.

"I'm going to fight for you, Robin. Just as you fought the Sheriff for me. You will see that we still belong together." She leaned closer to pull him into a sweet kiss. Then she smiled and slipped out of the tent, leaving him to think about the choice he had to make.

Robin knew sleep would be impossible for him, so he stared at the ceiling of his tent, feeling more conflicted than ever.

* * *

_aaaaannnd you're going to have to suffer with that cliffhanger for awhile cause i'm going on vacation until the 25th and i'm a bit stuck as to where i want to go exactly. sorry! thoughts/comments/suggestions/ect would make my day! don't be shy! :)_


	6. Chapter 6

_sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but i hope you enjoy it. as always, reviews would be lovely. _

* * *

Regina wasn't surprised when Robin didn't return later that night. She was almost grateful, actually. She couldn't bare pretending she was happy when she knew it was all wrong. He might choose her for now, but that wouldn't last. She knew it wouldn't because she considered what would happen if it had been Daniel that returned. She might choose Robin for a short time because they were Soul Mates and that was supposed to mean something, but eventually she would find her way back to Daniel because her heart belonged to him. But then she would feel guilty that she even considered choosing someone else over Daniel and that would weigh over their relationship. She wanted to save Robin the guilt and the mistakes.

Tinkerbell had returned with the ingredients for the location spell, but she immediately knew something was wrong and insisted Regina talk to her. The brunette told her everything. While Tink understood her feelings, she still believed in the power of Soul Mates. Regina found her unwavering belief a bit irritating, but she was thankful for the fairy's presence regardless. Despite their painful past, the blonde seemed to forgive her for everything and she was one of the few people around Regina who never tried to manipulate her, which was a refreshing change.

Speaking of change, she quickly changed the subject as soon as she got all of her thoughts off her chest. Tink gave her a disapproving look, but allowed her to talk about finding Elsa's sister anyways.

"Do you have anything that belongs to Anna?"

Tink shook her head. "Elsa didn't have anything of her sister's when she was put into the vase. The location spell will take much longer without it."

Regina nodded and sat down, gesturing for Tink to sit across from her. "So you can start it now and hopefully we will find out Anna is here in Storybrooke."

"I can start it?" Tink gave her a look. "You know that I had just begun my training when I lost my wings, right? I've never really done a location spell before, much less on my own. I've only read about it in books."

"Now is the time to try it yourself." Regina smiled and pushed the ingredients towards the other woman. "You learn better by doing things instead of just reading about them."

Tinkerbell's delighted smile was contagious and Regina almost forgot about Robin as she watched the fairy carefully create the spell that would show them where Anna was. She reflected on how the blonde would have probably done this spell - and many others - a million times before if she hadn't been the reason Tink lost her wings. She knew Tink wasn't angry, not anymore, but she still felt guilt over her role in the fairy's downfall. She felt bad her friend hadn't been able to become a full fledged fairy as she had born to be.

"Tink?"

The fairy paused in mixing the ingredients to look at her. She wasn't used to Regina sounding so hesitant. At least, not since they were much younger.

"I am truly sorry. About making you lose your wings. You didn't deserve that."

"I can't say that I will forget what you did, but I do forgive you, Regina. I know that you have changed."

"You are a good fairy, Tinkerbell. You tried to help me when no one else would. And despite all that I have done, you are still here for me."

Tinkerbell smiled again. "Like I said, you've changed. And you deserve happiness."

Regina didn't know what to say, so she just smiled and handed her the next ingredient. They resumed their comfortable silence. Before long, the potion glowed.

"I did it!" Tinkerbell said happily.

"You did. Now we just have to wait until it finds Anna. Then it will lead us to her."

"Great. And until then?"

"We wait."

Tink rolled her eyes. "Okay, well this could take days, and I'm not going to just sit here and stare at the potion."

Regina gave her a look. "I didn't mean literally."

"Why don't we take a stroll in the woods?" Tinkerbell said cheekily.

The brunette stood, ignoring her. "Or I could show you what this world thinks you're Iike. Do you want a glass of wine while we watch the movie Peter Pan?"

Tink frowned. "Peter Pan?"

Regina tried to hide her laugh as she slipped into the kitchen to pull out a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"Regina, why am I in a movie called Peter Pan?" Tinkerbell asked louder. She waited a moment for Regina to answer, but only heard the sound of clinking glasses. "Regina?"

* * *

Needless to say, Tinkerbell did not enjoy Disney's depiction of her. Though the animated character looked like her, Tink was quick to protest that she was not such a jealous person and she certainly did not care for Peter Pan and she wasn't naive enough to believe anything Hook said.

"I would have let that bastard Pan burn from Hook's gift rather than sacrificing myself to save him. Like he actually deserves that." Those were her exact words, Regina recalled with a smile.

Now they sat in the living room, talking about everything but Robin. Tinkerbell glanced through the old collection of fairy tales that Regina found from when Henry was younger. She marveled at the differences between the stories taught in this world and the real stories she knew of.

"So, you pretended to be an old hag to get Snow White to eat the poisoned apple, huh? All because your magical mirror told you she was prettier." The fairy said as she read. "I have to say, Regina, I didn't think that was your style."

Regina laughed loudly. "Now you know the truth about our feud. That's how it all began."

"And the story of Rumpelstiltskin doesn't make him seem as powerful as he truly is. His story isn't exactly long, considering how much he has affected everyone from our land."

"Not just our land." Regina responded, thinking of Elsa. She sighed. "What happens if we don't find Anna? I don't think Elsa will take it lightly and our promise to find her is the only thing preventing her from freezing the entire town."

"Then we try our best to appeal to her humanity? If she realizes that we are people like the ones she used to rule then she won't hurt us. She must have a protective side that we can tap into."

"Is that what you always do? Try to appeal to people's humanities?" Regina smiled. "It didn't work with me when Snow tried that. It might not work with Elsa."

"We'll see." Tink replied as she finished the rest of her wine. "It might not have worked then, but hasn't it now? I mean, you're far from the Evil Queen you once were. How about another glass while we watch your movie?"

"Technically, it's Snow White's movie. One more glass. I don't need a repeat of the other night." She said with a smile as she picked up their glasses and brought them into the kitchen to refill. Tinkerbell selected the movie and put in the the DVD player as she had seen Regina do earlier.

They were halfway through the movie when there was a knock on the door. Regina put her glass on the table in front of her before heading to open the door. She was surprised to see Snow holding Neal in his carrier.

"Snow?"

"Hi Regina. I should have called, but is it okay if we come in for a visit?"

"Sure. Tinkerbell is here as well." She led her former stepdaughter into the other room. The pixie haired woman greeted Tink before her eyes settled on the tv screen.

"You're watching Snow White?" She said in surprise.

Regina and Tink exchanged a look before Regina smiled. "Tink has never seen it."

Snow laughed. "That's not quite what happened."

"Yes, I'm well aware. Even if I didn't know, Regina keeps getting upset at this potrayal of her." The blonde replied teasingly.

"Says the one who was just yelling at her character from _Peter Pan_." Regina responded dryly.

Tink turned to look at Snow. "Honestly, it's just so ridiculous. I am not a jealous little brat!"

The brunette chuckled as she shifted Neal in her arms. "Somehow, all of our stories have been changed in this world."

Regina nodded in agreement as she reached out to hold the baby. Snow passed him to her and sat on the couch. Tinkerbell leaned over Regina's shoulder to make faces at Neal. Regina looked up at the newborn's mother.

"Not that I don't love seeing this little guy, but what are you doing here, Snow?"

"Uh, we were in the neighborhood." Snow tried, avoiding eye contact with Regina, who had always been able to tell when she was lying. Well, most people could because she wasn't very good at it, but Regina was able to read her better than most.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing." She admitted sheepishly, embarrassment coloring her fair cheeks. "I heard that Robin never came back after talking to his wife."

Regina shot a look at Tink, who shook her head. "I didn't say anything."

"Emma had to talk to one of the Merry Men this morning. She told me." Snow answered.

"No, he didn't." Regina looked down at the child in her arms. She felt tears prickle behind her eyes. In the short time that she and Robin were together, she had foolishly allowed herself to think of their future together. Marriage, raising their boys together, perhaps having a child of their own. She had dreamt it all and now she regretted it because the hope made losing everything more painful. "I don't know how you live holding onto so much hope, Snow. When everything backfires in your face, how can you possibly still be hopeful?"

Snow shared a worried look with Tink. "Sometimes, hope is all we have. If I didn't have hope that Charming and I would have our happy ending, we wouldn't have Emma and this little guy." She brushed the light hair out of Neal's face. "What happened that's making you doubt? You heard Robin, he's going to tell Marian everything so he can be with you."

"Marian is his first love, Snow. No one, especially not me, can compare. He didn't return because as soon as he saw her he realized that he has doubts."

"But you're Soul Mates." Tinkerbell argued lightly, not for the first time.

"She's Roland's mother. Robin and I have a good relationship because it was new and fun. But they are married, they've had the ups and downs and they know they can work it out. Robin would be crazy to throw that all away for an uncertain relationship with the former Evil Queen."

"Regina..." Tink half whispered, sounding disappointed and upset at the same time. It reminded Regina of all those years ago when she asked the fairy what she needed.

Snow shook her head. "You deserve him, no matter what you think."

Regina shook her head and handed Neal back to Snow. "We should finish watching the movie. I have a lot of work to do after."

Tink frowned. Snow opened her mouth to protest, but Regina pressed play and turned the volume up, effectively silencing them. The credits had just begun rolling when there was another knock on the door. Regina glanced at her guests, wondering who else would be looking for her. She stood and moved to greet her guest.

Her words died on her lips as she saw who was waiting on her doorstep.

"Regina." Robin said by way of greeting. He gave her a smile.

"Regina, who is it?" Tink joined her at the door. Her eyes widened as she saw the visitor. "Hi Robin. Snow and I were just leaving, so you can come on in." She pulled Regina to the side so Robin could step in the house.

"Hello Tinkerbell. How are you?"

"Great, how are you? How did your chat go with Marian?"

"Tinkerbell!" Regina finally scolded.

The fairy smiled at her. "Fine, I'll get Snow." She disappeared into the other room.

Regina gave Robin a small smile, which he returned easily.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted a girls' afternoon."

"It's alright. We were just watching some silly movies."

"Movies?" He questioned.

She was saved from explaining what a movie was when Tink returned with Snow and Neal. Snow smiled at Robin before leaning in to give Regina a hug.

"You deserve this." She whispered before picking up the sleeping baby's carrier and nodding at Robin as she left.

Tinkerbell was grinning mischieviously. "Call me later, Regina. Bye Robin."

"Have a good day, Tinkerbell." Robin said.

Tinkerbell's departure left an uncomfortable silence. Regina took a deep breath. "What do you want, Robin?"

"I know that I have no right, but I came here to ask if you would wait for me to figure this situation out. I know that I promised that I would end things with Marian, but things are so terribly complicated-" he drifted off as he saw the heartbroken look in her eyes, which was quickly replaced by determination as she shook her head.

"There is no situation. Your wife has been spared from death. You should be with her."

Robin was speechless for a moment. She had seemed so delighted when he thawed her heart with True Love's Kiss yesterday.

"I knew it was a bad idea to hope things would work out for us. You have too much past with your wife and I knew sooner or later you would be reminded of that."

"But... But I love you, Regina. We're Soul Mates."

"We can't be together." She said quickly, trying her best to keep her mask on. She couldn't allow him to see how much this was hurting her. She needed to make it easier for him to remain with his family.

"Of course we can. We are meant to be. You said so yourself! I just need time-"

"Do you remember when I told you about Dr. Whale pretending to help me?"

Robin frowned, confused at her sudden change of subject. "Of course. He led you to believe that he could bring your first love, Daniel, back to you. But I don't see how-"

"You're doing the same thing, right now. You cannot give me all this false hope before you eventually return to your wife. And you will, because you deserve each other."

The outlaw fell silent, hurt that she would feel that way. "And you? You don't deserve happiness?"

She smiled weakly. "It's not in the cards for me. It never has been. But I'm a fighter, I'll move on. I still have Henry and surprisingly enough I have friends now too."

"I know that you're a fighter. It's part of what drew me to you. Your strength, your ability to soldier on no matter how much pain you were in." He replied honestly, thinking of all the things she had suffered through.

Regina looked away, trying not to think about all the reasons she was drawn to him. "I suppose I have to remind you that you met me shortly before I tried to put myself under a sleeping curse."

He took one step closer to her and she watched his movement out of the corner of her eye. "But you didn't. You found something to fight for. But now you've given up again."

"And what? You want me to fight for you, Robin? You want me to fight your _wife _to be with you?" She couldn't help but stare at him incredulously.

"That's not what I meant." Robin started.

"I don't have any fight left in me, alright? I've spent so much of my life fighting and I won't do it anymore." She continued as if he hadn't said anything at all. "I'm trying to make this decision easier for you!"

"WellI don't want you to!" Robin allowed his emotions to shine clearly on his face as he shouted. "You backing down from this doesn't make it any easier! On the contrary, it makes it so much harder!"

"Harder?" She asked in surprise.

"Yes. Despite all you've been through, you're putting my happiness before your own. You're willing to suffer just so my family remains intact. Truly you must know that I see that?"

The raven haired mayor shrugged nonchalantly. "It's the right thing to do." She mumbled, sounding an awful lot like her stepdaughter and son-in-law.

"They say True Love means putting someone else's happiness before your own and letting them go if it means that they're happy."

Regina didn't look impressed with his argument.

"You almost died in order to protect Marian."

"I couldn't let Roland lose his mother again. Especially because it was my fault the first time. You deserve to raise your family together as you planned, Robin."

He was slightly surprised her words echoed Marian's thoughts earlier. "Please don't give up."

"I won't sit here like a little girl hoping you come through on all your promises only to be disappointed. I'm not that naive anymore." She spat angrily. She seemed to compose herself for a moment as she folded her arms across her chest and took a deep breath. "I think it's time you go home."

"Regina-" Robin tried even though he could tell she was working hard to keep her walls up. The walls that he had so carefully taken down just a few weeks ago, when she finally opened up to him and let him in her heart.

"This isn't a discussion. Leave."

He sighed, knowing she left no room for anymore argument. "I'm sorry. But I do love you, Regina."

"I know." She said, softness seeping in her voice. "But sometimes love isn't enough."

She didn't allow him to respond before she shut the door on him.

* * *

_thank you so much for everyone that reviewed, especially Cap'n OQ, EreshkigalGirl, and the guest that wondered if Marian realized that she was preventing both her and Robin from being with their True Loves. you all made fantastic points and i'm taking your reviews to heart as i write the next few chapters. i LOVE your long thoughts and i truly appreciate them! _


	7. Chapter 7

_again, thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews! i appreciate each and every one of them! ereshkigalgirl and guest, you both made wonderful points about soul mates and i understand where both of you are coming from. ereshkigalgirl, i was actually thinking about that memory potion... but i haven't decided if it will come into play in this story :)_

_enjoy this chapter! _

* * *

Regina supposed she wasn't really lying when she told Snow that she had a lot of work to do. She needed to fix all the damage her sister had caused to the town, starting with the the clock tower. She stood below it, staring at the broken window she had been thrown through not that long ago. Contractors were currently fixing it and she was waiting for their boss to show up so she could pay them and start the next task on her checklist. She wondered if she should bother doing anything with the barn Zelena had opened the time portal in. Or if she should pack up her sister's things and try to sell her house. Perhaps she would deal with that later. Who knows what she would find? Regina didn't want to deal with any more family secrets.

Truthfully, she didn't want to deal with much at all. If Henry wasn't keeping a careful eye on her, she was sure she wouldn't leave her bed. Despite her attempts to keep busy, Robin's words kept running through her mind. She didn't think twice when she saved Marian from Elsa. It was true she was putting her own happiness aside so Robin and Roland could be happy, but wasn't that what heroes did? She had felt so delighted when Henry called her a hero and when she used white magic to defeat her sister, but now she felt the struggle to remain good. It reminded her of the last time she tried to be good, which was quickly stopped when her mother appeared in Storybrooke. It was far easier to fall back into the darkness than it was to be heroic.

She was balancing the pros and cons of returning to her old ways when the contractors' boss returned. She made some halfhearted snark about being on time and paid him quickly before heading back to her office. She carefully documented all the funds she was using to repair the town in case Emma Swan decided to try and damage her reputation as she had when she first moved to Storybrooke. She knew it was unlikely the blonde would challenge her again, especially since she felt guilty over ruining her happy ending and hurting Regina would hurt their son as well. But in the off chance their relationship deteriorated any further, Emma wouldn't have any ridiculous evidence to try to bring against her.

Regina glanced at her phone when it beeped and she saw a text from Henry. He wanted her to know he was spending the day with Roland because the boy had begged him to but he promised to be home in time for dinner. She felt her heart melt at the thought. She was happy her son had gotten along with the young boy so well and he didn't punish him for all of his father's stupidity. Those were Henry's words, spoken to make her laugh, which they certainly had.

_"He is an idiot, Mom. Sooner or later he will realize that." He had said when he returned home to find her trying to hide evidence of her tears. He begged her to tell him what happened, so she did. _

_"Henry." She scolded lightly. _

_"He is! Honestly, I'm just disappointed that the great and mighty Prince of Thieves from all the stories is kind of a whimp. He's choosing the past over a really awesome future with you. That's pretty pathetic." _

_"He's not a wimp, Henry. He's a good man."_

Henry didn't bother to respond to that, so the subject was dropped. Her son was the biggest con of her returning to her old ways. Knowing how disappointed and hurt he would be was the main reason she was still fighting to remain good.

Regina sighed as she finished her paperwork. She didn't want to return to an empty house just yet, so she decided to go to the stables. The freedom of riding always made her feel better and it had been so long since she had mounted a horse.

* * *

Henry spent a few hours with Roland at the park, showing him the best ways to go down the slide and climb the monkey bars. Then they sword fought for a bit before heading to get ice cream at Granny's. The boy's endless enthusiasm was more exhausting than Henry realized, so he was bringing him back to his parents much sooner than he planned. He remembered being the same way when he was younger and he wondered how his mother could deal with him all the time and on her own. At least Robin had the Merry Men to play with Roland when he was too tired to.

He knocked on the door to Robin's room, an ice cream covered Roland bouncing around next to him.

The older man answered, grinning when he saw the tired look on Henry's face.

"Daddy!" Roland shouted as he threw himself onto his father's legs. Robin laughed and picked him up.

"Hello, my boy. How was your day with Henry?"

As Roland burst into a long tale of the adventures they had, Robin invited Henry into the room and started to clean off Roland's face. Henry interjected his own thoughts into the boy's narrative and by the time Roland finished, he was sleepily rubbing at his eyes. Robin smiled and helped him to the bed for a nap. Within minutes, he was asleep and Henry was left with the man that broke his mom's heart.

"Where is Marian?"

"She is at the hospital. Someone suggested that she look into getting a job there to keep busy. She has always liked to help people."

"That's a good idea. I'm sure Dr. Whale could use the help." Henry caught the uneasy look that crossed Robin's face at the mention of the doctor, but he didn't comment. "I want to talk to you about my mom. Well, about both of them."

Robin frowned, wondering what Emma Swan had to do with him. Despite the fact it was at her hand that Marian returned, he hadn't had much contact with her. "I'm always here to listen to you, Henry."

"Emma chose Killian over my real dad. I'm not mad at her for that. Not at all."

"Henry-" Robin started, suddenly understanding exactly where this was going.

"I'm not done." Henry said in a way that made it clear which mother had raised him. His firm confidence demanded Robin's attention and made clear that he was in charge of the conversation. He saw Regina do the same thing many times before. "I wasn't mad at her for not choosing my dad because I knew she was happy. That's the most important part for me. Someday, it will be for Roland too. If you're worried about him hating you for leaving his mom, he won't be. Not if you're happy and I know you will be with my mom. He already knows that you aren't happy now, even if you think you are hiding it. He hears you guys fight all the time. You can't raise him like that."

"How do you-"

"He told me about you guys fighting today. But it wasn't the first time he has told me that. Why do you think he ran away to my mom's house? He's a smart kid, Robin. I'm assuming that his happiness is what is keeping you from choosing my mom, so I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to worry about him. He loves my mom and I know that she loves him too."

Robin studied the boy for a moment, trying to grasp the right words to say. He knew from the stories he heard in the Enchanted Forest that the boy was smart, but he hadnt realized just how smart. Clearly, he understood how to read people. "I appreciate that, Henry. You must know that this has been incredibly difficult for me."

"Not as difficult as it has been for my mom." Henry replied with as much attitude as he could muster. "I don't really like how you've hurt her since Marian's return, but I know you make her happy so I guess I could overlook that."

Robin opened and closed his mouth in shock, suddenly feeling like a teenage boy being intimidated by his girlfriend's father. Clearly, Henry had also learned intimidation from the best - his mother. "It has been difficult because I feel so horrible about hurting your mother. I promise you that I do care deeply for her. But I also made a vow to be with Marian and I feel guilty about leaving her, not just because she is Roland's mother, but because I love her and she is my wife. This is a difficult decision because I am trying to do the honorable thing, but I know I am only hurting them."

"Forget the honorable thing. I know that being a gentleman is a big part of who you are, but sometimes you just have to do what makes you happiest."

"You're a smart boy, Henry."

"I know." He said with a smile. "I also know that you and my mom are Soul Mates. Tinkerbell told me. You are destined to be with my mom so dragging it out is only gonna hurt everyone more. And it might even prevent Marian from finding her own Soul Mate or True Love."

"I am her True Love." Robin argued weakly, knowing that everything Henry said was true.

"Sometimes people have more than one True Love. My mom did. So do you." Henry sensed that Robin was thinking over everything he said so he stood with a smile. He held out his hand for the older man to shake. "I'll leave you to think. Whatever you choose, just know that if you hurt my mom any more I will make you regret it. Okay?"

Robin smiled at the boy's threat. He knew Regina would be honored that Henry loved her enough to be so protective over her. "Regina is lucky to have you, my boy."

Henry tried to hide the delight that covered his face, but unlike his mother, he wasn't very good about hiding his feelings. "Thanks Robin. Tell Roland I'll see him again soon."

The outlaw nodded and watched the boy turn and leave the room. Marian joined him a moment later, finally back from the hospital.

"Was that the Queen's son I saw leaving?"

He nodded absentmindedly.

"What did he want? Was he carrying a message from his mother? I was under the impression that she wasn't going to fight for you."

Robin eyed his wife's eager face. "Why were you under that impression?"

"Well she hasn't bothered to come see you and the townspeople are aways talking about how she barely leaves her home or office. I assumed she decided to leave our marriage alone."

"Did you know that Roland is unhappy because he hears us fighting all the time?"

"No, I doubt that's the reason. He's probably just upset by all the recent changes in his life. He's in a totally different land, surrounded by different people. It's a lot to deal with for anyone."

He knew she was insinuating that Regina's new presence in Roland's life was the reason he wasn't his usually bubbly self. But he was more bubbly when he was around her. It was Marian's presence that was making him more reserved, but Robin wasn't cruel enough to point that out. "It is the reason. He told Henry."

Marian started to argue, but Robin cut her off by standing. "Where are you going?"

"I need some time to think about everything."

"So you're going to make your decision?"

"I think it's about time I do."


	8. Chapter 8

_i am sincerely sorry for the really long wait on this chapter. i know you have been waiting for robin's decision and i've dragged it out for far too long. but my aunt just passed away from a year long battle with brain cancer so i haven't really been in the mood to write. hopefully, i've made up for the long wait with this chapter. it will be the last before the epilogue. __please__ let me know what you think!_

* * *

Regina stumbled over a tree root, sighing in frustration as she reminded herself to pay attention to where she was going. For once in her life, horseback riding hadn't helped clear her mind. In fact, it had only made her more confused and upset. Naturally, the stables reminded her of Daniel, who she spent the first hour of her ride thinking about. Then she started thinking about Robin and the life she almost had with him. She knew she shouldn't fight for him because it would only lead to more pain for her, but she was disappointed that once more her happy ending was gone. Just like that, with a whispered name in a crowded diner, she was left alone again. She supposed that she wasn't completely on her own. This time she had let Snow into her heart instead of letting her pain grow into anger and hate. And she had Henry and Tink as well. But romantically? She was alone.

All of those thoughts led to her dismounting her horse at the stables and heading towards the quiet of the thick forest. She usually found peace within the shaded paths. She sighed again and brushed off her riding clothes. She glanced down to look at her pants before she collided with something or someone.

"Watch where you're going!" Regina shouted in irritation. She looked up to meet the striking blue eyes of Robin. She frowned. Of all the people, of course she had to run into the one person she didn't want to see.

"I'm sorry, M'lady, I wasn't paying attention." He apologized.

"Obviously." She said to herself.

He smiled at her snark, as he always had. He decided to cut to the chase. "I spoke with your boy earlier. He told me that we are meant to be together and me dragging the choice out is just going to hurt everyone, especially Roland, more."

Regina looked away. "Yes, well, Henry thinks that everyone will get a happy ending. He is a bit naïve, just like his grandparents." She shrugged and turned to leave.

Robin caught her arm and stepped in her way. "But he's right. We are meant to be together, no matter what." He put his hand on the back of her neck and tilted her head so he could kiss her for the first time in what felt like months. She responded eagerly before remembering that he was married. She tried to pull away but he held onto her waist. He put his forehead on hers. "I choose you, Regina. I really, truly do. You can come with me to talk to Marian if you believe I will waver again, but I promise you that I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

She still looked doubtful. "Henry talking to you made you realize this?"

"Henry made me realize that I was delaying my choice because of Roland. I thought leaving his mother would hurt him, but it seems that staying with her hurts him more. Apparently he can sense that I'm unhappy without you, even if I couldn't quite admit it myself." He turned her head so she had to make eye contact with him. "I love you, Regina. So much. You are my Soul Mate and my happy ending."

"Robin, you won't leave Marian."

"But I will. I am not truly happy with her and I've just spent the last hour thinking about you. I know now that nothing is more clear to me than how much I want to be with you." He stared at her, trying to read behind the blank mask she was keeping on. He looked around them desperately before pulling a leaf from a nearby tree and pulling off the blade so it was just the stem left. He twisted it into a circle before grabbing Regina's hand and kneeling.

"I know that you have your doubts and I don't blame you because of the ridiculous way I've reacted to Marian's return. Despite the fact that we haven't been together long, I know that we are meant to be together. I can feel it with my whole soul." He smiled at the tearful look on her face. "Marry me, Regina. Take this makeshift ring as my promise that we will be married. Whenever you like, of course."

She laughed, wiping away her tears. She knew he was completely genuine and realized that unlike last time, he was aware of what he was letting go. He understood that he was giving up on his marriage with Marian and yet he still wanted to be with her. She waited just a moment, sensing his nervousness before answering. "Yes, I'll marry you, Robin."

His grin stretched across his face as he slipped the stem on her finger and stood, pulling her into a kiss. "I promise I will spend every second of our life together making up for how I've abandoned you lately."

Regina laughed again, shaking her head. "You might want to talk to Marian soon."

"Of course. I will also find you a new ring suited for a queen." He smiled, his eyes twinkling as he eyed the stem. "Since Tinkerbell has been pushing for us to be together for some long, I wouldn't be surprised if she already had one picked out."

"I wouldn't be surprised either." Regina responded with a smile. "Let me know when you are done talking to Marian so I can call her."

Robin smiled at her blush. "It's okay to be excited and want to share the news, Regina. How about we have dinner tonight and tell the boys?"

"Sounds good. I'll call Henry and ask him to pick up Roland later tonight." She pulled him into a kiss. "Now go. And this time you better come back."

"Regina…"

"I'm kidding. I know you will. I love you, Robin."

"And I you, my love."

* * *

It was safe to say the talk with Marian wasn't easy. She was sure that she had succeed in reminding her husband of why they married in the first place, so when Robin returned from his walk and announced that he was going to be with Regina, she was shocked. He tried his best to ease her into the conversation about his proposal and ideas about how they would raise Roland together. At first, she was angry and then sad. She begged him to rethink his decision.

_"I've been thinking of nothing but this since you returned, Marian. I wasn't able to admit what I truly wanted until now. But I have never been more sure in my life. You know that I will always love you, and I will be here to help you adjust to this world. But I am doing you a great injustice by forcing you to stay in this marriage when my heart belongs to someone else. I am releasing you from our vows so you may find some one that makes you as happy as Regina makes me."_

When Robin left her room at Granny's, she had reluctantly accepted that her marriage was over. He felt guilty for hurting her, but he also felt lighter than he had in awhile as he walked to Regina's house. The lightness in his heart made him pull Regina into a sweet kiss as soon as he joined her in the kitchen. She laughed as he let her go.

"How did it go?"

"It wasn't easy. But I'm all yours." He replied with a grin.

Regina gave him a sly smile. "Well you're going to have to share me for a little bit. Tinkerbell is coming over. She said she found something."

He nodded. "Alright." The archer moved to pull her into another kiss as the doorbell rang. Regina reluctantly pulled herself away to answer.

"I think I've found Anna. She's right here in Storybrooke!" Tink said in lieu of greeting. She walked past Regina and made her way into the kitchen, only pausing when she saw Robin leaning against the counter. "Oh my. Have I interrupted?"

"Not exactly…." Robin started.

"Tell us where Anna is so we may find her, Tink." Regina interrupted, suddenly feeling nervous about sharing the news of their engagement.

"You've found Anna? That's fantastic." Robin replied

Tink nodded. "Elsa will be very happy. I thought we could reunite them tonight, but it seems you two are hiding something from me so I want to know. I'll wait here all night if I must."

Regina gave her an exasperated look. "Who says we're hiding anything?"

"Regina, you might be good at hiding your emotions, but Robin is easily readable. He looks like he is going to burst with happiness."

The two women turned to look at the outlaw, who was trying his best to keep a straight face but his smile kept returning to his face. Regina's face softened into a smile as she watched him. She moved around the kitchen island to stand next to him. He reached for her hand.

"I know when I unfroze Regina's heart I promised that we would be together but I allowed myself to be confused about my feelings and I ended up hurting her even more. But now I've fully admitted that I love her and can't live without her." Robin smiled at Regina. "So I asked her to be my wife."

Tinkerbell stood there in complete silence for an uncomfortable amount of time. Regina started to shift awkwardly before the blonde pulled them both into a tight hug as she squealed in excitement. "I can't believe it! This is so exciting! You guys are getting married! I helped two Soul Mates find each other and now they are getting married! Let me see the ring!"

She raised her eyebrow as she saw the stem wrapped around Regina's finger.

Robin blushed. "It's temporary. It was all I had on hand. But I'm certainly going to get a ring that she actually deserves…"

Tink interrupted his mumbling. "It's so cute! But I'll help you pick out a ring, if you want. Oh gosh, Regina, you have to plan the wedding! There is so much to do!"

"Woah, woah, relax, Tink. We have plenty of time to deal with all that. For now, I think we just want a regular relationship that isn't interrupted by dead wives and Ice Queens." Regina said.

"So you aren't getting married soon?"

The couple exchanged looks before Robin answered. "We are meant to be together, so there is no rush. We want things to settle down first."

"Alright." Tinkerbell sighed happily. "I'm just so happy for you."

"Thank you, Tink." Regina replied warmly.

The fairy stood there for a few more seconds before she jumped. "Oh! You probably want me to leave so you can celebrate. Sorry about that." She pulled each of them into another hug before saying goodbye and heading out.

Regina chuckled at her friend's enthusiasm before she suggested that they start dinner for the boys. She carefully taught Robin how to cook in a modern kitchen. Surprisingly, he picked up things pretty quickly and dinner was ready just in time for the boys to arrive home. They heard the door burst open followed by the sounds of two boys racing up the stairs.

Robin shook his head as he heard them. He reached for his fiancée's hand. "Ready to tell them?"

"Nothing would make me happier. "


	9. Epilogue

_and so we have reached the end... much love to every one of you who have stuck with me and read this whole story, as well as those who have reviewed it. i have received so many reviews on this story, which has completely blown me away. although i wouldn't mind a few more to let me know how you like the ending of this! ;) enjoy the rest of the summer !_

* * *

**Epilogue**

Tinkerbell's location spell worked perfectly and they found Anna with her husband Kristoff and their newborn daughter living in a small cabin just outside of the town. Anna cried happily as she learned that her sister was in Storybrooke. The redhead explained to the fairy and Regina that she and Kristoff had fallen through a portal in the woods and landed in the Enchanted Forest. When the first curse broke, they heard nothing of Elsa or Arendelle so they tried to put their past behind them. They decided to live a quiet existence in the woods, away from all the unfamiliar people, which is why no one had first recognized her when Elsa wondered where she was. They had been so focused on their new baby they hadn't even heard about the Ice Queen who was threatening the town. The redhead gave the fairy and mayor grateful hugs before they led the small family to the station where Elsa was still being held.

Their reunion was sweet and there was not a dry eye as Elsa met her niece for the first time. Robin wrapped his arm around Regina's shoulders and pulled her to him. She leaned her head against his chest and smiled. The Charmings watched the sisters talk happily with tearful expressions. After a little while Regina pulled Robin out of the room to give them more privacy. The Charmings weren't far behind but they headed back to their apartment. Henry and Roland waited for their parents outside.

"Can I get pancakes?" Roland asked sweetly as he grabbed the hands of his father and 'new mommy' and they started walking to Granny's.

"You can get whatever you want." Robin responded with a smile to Regina.

"Can we stop at the library for a minute?" Henry pointed at the clocktower. "There's this book I want to check out."

Regina smiled, grateful that her son was enjoying reading again instead of playing his games constantly like he did when he didn't remember his life in Storybrooke. "Of course, dear."

He ran ahead, Roland letting go of the adults to follow him. Robin pulled Regina closer to him and kissed her cheek lightly. "I love you."

"I love you too." She smiled.

He held open the door for her and she stepped through. Henry was headed to the left and Roland was making his way through the aisles on the right with great interest. Robin and Regina exchanged looks as they each headed after their own kid.

Robin caught up with Roland quickly. "What are you doing, Roland?" He knew the boy didn't know how to read yet, so he wondered what he was looking for.

"Lookin'. It's reaaaallly hot in here, Papa."

Robin realized it was pretty warm in the building but he didn't think much of it. Perhaps they had forgotten to turn down the heat after Elsa's storms.

The librarian, who Regina had explained was Gold's new wife, walked up to them with a smile. "Can I help you find anything?"

"I don't think so." Robin replied politely.

The brunette nodded and watched Roland. "He's adorable."

"Thank you."

"It must be the dragon breathing fire downstairs! That's why it's so hot, Papa!" Roland exclaimed excitedly. He pointed at the floor.

"What dragon?" Robin glanced at Belle, who shrugged and looked at the boy again.

"'Gina said there was a dragon below." He responded quickly before running off to find Regina and tell her.

Robin excused himself politely and followed him. He could hear Regina's laugh from the other side of the library and followed the sound that was like music to his ears. Roland was in her arms, explaining excitedly as Henry held onto the book he found and listened with a smile on his face. Regina looked up and met his eye with a grin.

"What's this I hear about a dragon downstairs?" He asked as he joined them and wrapped his arm around Regina.

"Her name is Maleficent. She used to be Mom's friend, but she trapped her as a dragon downstairs during the first curse." Henry explained.

Robin gave his fiancée a look, to which she shrugged. "Long story. I'll tell you another time."

"Can we go see the dragon?" Roland asked.

"Certainly not." Robin replied. "We're going to get you some pancakes at Granny's."

"Oh yeah." Roland said thoughtfully. "Let's go!"

The adults chuckled as Henry went to go check out his book. He met them at the front door a few moments later and together the family happily walked to Granny's diner for one of many, many meals together.


End file.
